The Man Who Would Be God
by ElementalShadow
Summary: With Jump City destroyed, Trigon has beaten the Teen Titans. As Raven falls to her dark father, she contracts a being of unimaginable power. A god with the power to destroy everything he wishes. An entity that destroyed a galaxy before even the birth of Trigon himself. A being who warred with the gods themselves and destroyed them. The Deity of the End.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new story that I will be using to relieve a bit of writers block. The Dead Can't Be Heard already has chapters hand written up to chapter eleven, I am currently working on getting them typed up so they'll be up soon. Anyhow, here's this new story for people to enjoy. I hope you do and look forward to more of TDCBH.**

 **Start!**

 **The Man Who Would Be God**

 **Chapter One:**

 **He Cometh**

 **"** **In honor of your resurrection, my daughter, I will grant you the honor of becoming my sacrifice, so that I may finally devour...this Universe!"**

Time knew no meaning as Jump city was in flames. Trigon, a Devourer of Universes and Souls, stood atop the dilapidated ruins of the Titan Tower. His four piercing yellow eyes glared down upon the unconscious forms of the Titans and his downed Daughter of Pride, Raven. She met his glare with a powerful one of her own. "No! I won't let you do this!"

The blood red monster spread his wings and let loose a pulse of malevolent energy. **"You truly think that you have the strength to stand against me?! You have no strength left to speak of. You cannot stand, let alone fight, my daughter."**

Raven, clad in white, struggled as hard as she could to stand, but to no avail. Her will to even stay awake was fading into nothingness. As darkness clouded her vision, she began to utter words that shook the very ground beneath her feet.

 ** _"_** ** _Timeless Being, Betwixt Illusions and Realities..."_**

The ground began to crack as the very air around the dark sorceress began to bend and fissure. Trigon heard the echoing whispers of his daughter and narrowed his sickly eyes, dark magical energy gathering around his form. **"You're too late!"**

 ** _"_** ** _Protect My Body, Destroy My Enemies..."_**

The buildup of magical power was released in a massive beam of destructive power, but before it struck his daughter, somehow reality twisted upon the beam and it simply vanished from existence itself. His eyes betrayed a sense of an emotion that he had not felt in ages as his daughters chant continued.

Fear.

 ** _"_** ** _With This Deal, My Soul You Shall Rend..."_**

Trigon kept up his useless attempts to destroy her, but reality simply wouldn't allow it. Whatever power Raven called upon would not allow its summoner to be harmed. as her arms gave way and she fell to her stomach, the last few words left her mouth.

 ** _"_** ** _Heed My Call...Deity...of...the...End..."_**

Her vision faded to black as unconsciousness took her. Trigons face twisted in rage as the warping of reality became increasingly unstable. Cracks began to form in the air itself as a low growl was heard echoing through the air. The Demon Lords fist clenched hard enough to pierce his own flesh, bringing forth a bead of black blood that flowed over his hand. **"To think that I would be forced to meet you face to face once more...by my own daughter no less."**

The cracks in existence itself snapped open as a being exploded into existence. Dark magics swirled in a spiraling pillar of energy that very soon began to calm into a breeze of still overwhelming power. As the magic that shrouded his form dissipated, Trigon gazed upon the form of his long sworn enemy and ancient conquest over the gods. The being took the form of a man who soon stood to a height of six feet tall. His hair was of decent length, the sun blonde locks reaching down just below his shoulders. His skin took on a sickly tone that horribly contradicted his hairs vibrant color. His unclothed torso was built with an athletic tone and a mass of scar tissue over where his heart was while his lower body was covered by a rough umanori hakama colored with a tone reminiscent of fresh blood and an accenting of black in a stripe down the side of his legs. His feet were bare and his hands were clenched in a manner that made his devilish claws even more menacing than they already were. As his eyes opened to gaze up at Trigon; the Demon Lord, for the first time in millennia, stared back into the blood red eyes of his enemy.

His voice echoed over the expansive wasteland of Jump City, the water surrounding the island pulsing with each syllable he spoke.

 **"** **Skaath."**

Trigon glared harder at the being before him, disappearing into nothing before appearing once more a mere ten feet from him. **"I never thought that I would have to suffer the displeasure of looking upon your disgusting visage once more, Naruto."**

The being, Naruto, stared at the monstrous beast that easily towered over him by a good three feet with a look of absolute apathy, but spoke with dissent in his voice. **"I never thought that I would be contracted to your daughter, Skaath. It seems as though both of us are displeased. To be bound to someone of your blood until their death is certainly a punishment I wouldn't wish upon the worst of scum. And please, don't speak my name. I can't quite place it, but for some reason, coming out of your mouth, it just seems...unnatural."**

The Lord of Madness huffed rather uncharacteristically at the blonde before sending a wave of dark magic at him, only for him to simply wave it into nothingness. **"Almost, Skaath, but not quite. As much as it pains me to say, I AM bound by my law. Despite your daughter having no idea what she has done, I will slaughter any enemy she stands against until such the time comes for me to devour her immortal soul, however that works. Anyhow, right now you are her enemy. Quite a prize in my opinion. Fair warning, I'm a little bit rusty, so I would appreciate you going easy on me."**

Naruto began to stretch his arms and legs, gaining even further ire from his age old enemy. **"When I sealed you away between the fabric of dimensions, I obviously was wrong to assume that I had dealt with your ridiculous antics once and for all. A being with no purpose. All that power, and nary a goal to point it towards. A useless figurehead to signal the advent of the end."**

The blonde smirked lightly and he cracked his knuckles. **"You merely succeeded in sealing me away because my previous contractor held my hand. A sick ploy by your fellow deities in an attempt to control me. Luckily for me, you seem to have a few...family issues. Not to worry, it will all be over soon."**

It was in that moment that Trigon learned just how outmatched he was. Naruto disappeared from sight and reappeared with his fist firmly planted in the demons face, sending him careening into the rubble of the Titan Tower with a resounding boom. The blonde beast shook his hand lightly with a fake wince of pain. **"C'mon there, Skaath. That couldn't have knock you ou-..."**

He was cut short by a blast of malevolent energy that struck him hard enough to send him back to where he had stood in front of Raven's unconscious body. **"I will not be trifled with by a man who fancies himself some sort of deity. You are not the god you tout yourself to be! A so-called Deity of the End...Bah! You're nothing but a pathetic little man. Though...I suppose this is some form of poetic irony, as I will end you. Once and for all."**

The assault of Trigon's fists did not budge the blonde one bit. Instead, he smirked, grabbing one of the barraging fists before pulling the hulking demon lord down to his level and connecting another devastating hook to his face, sending him back once more into the rubble with a roar of rage. Naruto chuckled lightly and bounced around like a boxer would in the ring. **"I've got to hand it to you, Skaath, you certainly pack more of a punch than you used to. However, you're still as weak as ever."**

As Trigon picked himself up from the rubble, Naruto began to walk forward, the earth trembling with each step, as if the very ground feared the power he exuded. **"Now tell me, Skaath; why in the multiverse do you honestly think you have a chance?"**

The aforementioned demon glared through his blood-blurred vision as the wound on his face began to close. **"I am going to kill you..."** Naruto sucked his teeth and placed a hand firmly on his hip while he pinched the bridge of his nose in contempt. **"I swear, you have no idea when to just give up. At first it was kind of endearing. Now..."** He glared at the demon lord and his eyes began to glow a deeper red than before, his magical power swirling into a tornado pulsating with royal purple energy.

 **"** **You're just irritating."**

Trigon roared in fury as he charged the blonde, his own dark magic beginning to culminate. As he neared him, Naruto narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to the malevolent being. **"I grow tired of this already. By Writ of Ancient Law, I Sentence You to Death."**

As Trigon came closer, the Titans began to rouse from their pain-induced slumbers. With their first conscious breaths being taken, a single word rang through the air. Buildings crumbled under the weight of this word. A pressure took the Titans by surprise as they could not move. The power behind his voice made even Trigon falter.

 **"** **Begone."**

The horrid demon could not even scream. The power behind that single word wiped him from existence. His very being now an object of fiction. A fairy tale that parents will go on to tell their children. Naruto lowered his hand and sighed before rolling his shoulders slightly as the Titans slowly rose to their feet, speechless at the act they just witnessed. **"You'd think that after a thousand years, you would've kept me entertained at least a little bit longer. It's no fun doing things like that."**

Raven was dumbfounded as she stared at the entity with his back to her. This being had just simply...willed her father out of existence. To wield such power was...unsettling to her and to the rest of the Titans. "Who...are you?"

Naruto jumped slightly as he slowly turned his head to peek over his shoulder. **"Who? Me?"** She nodded slowly, still in shock from the previous events. He turned fully to the Titans who now gathered around him, each ready to attack if need be. The blonde rolled his eyes and pointed one of his clawed digits at the indigo haired sorceress. **"Don't think playing amnesiac is going to get you out of our deal, Raven Roth."**

She was confused, but the one to speak up was the Boy Wonder, Robin. "What are you talking about? What deal?" Naruto huffed and sat down crosslegged with a hand on his knee and the other on the bridge of his nose. **_'The Presence only knows that this is going to become the norm until our contract is up...'_**

With a snap of his fingers, the world around them shattered. The Titans jumped in fear and surprise as they appeared in the massive den area of the Titan Tower, the whole building and the rest of Jump City completely unharmed. Raven's eyes widened in fear as the gears in her head began to turn. "The Deity of the End..."

Naruto threw his hands up into the air with a gasp and clapped sarcastically. **"There you go, little Roth! Second try!"** The cybernetic teen, Cyborg, behind her, composed himself with a deep breath and spoke as calmly as possible. "Raven...did you just say...Deity of the End?"

Raven took a slight step back, nearly tripping over her white cloak until an unseen force set her upright. "The Deity of the End is a being that came into existence over ten thousand years ago. No one knows where he came from. He just...appeared. Where he came from isn't important however, because it was his coming that brought about the end of an entire galaxy. Countless Gods and Goddesses came together in an attempt to stop him but nothing worked. My...father sealed him away a thousand years ago after a contract was formed from the laws of both Divine and Unholy deities. The contract, after it was created, was immediately destroyed so that no one could ever free him. It's the only time in recorded history that Trigon ever cooperated with other deities."

The green one, Beast Boy, was far more...animated in his response to this information. "Then how the heck is he even here?!"

Naruto was the one to speak up this time, though he was no longer sitting and was now rummaging through the fridge for a drink. **"Little Roth over there summoned me of course, my tiny green friend. Gotta say, it's nice to be free, no matter how confusing it is. Even for me, considering that my contracting ritual was destroyed. Rothy Roth, you wouldn't mind telling me how it is you knew it, would you?"**

Raven shook her head slowly, truly not knowing how she knew it. She was still questioning to a degree as to whether or not she actually did summon him. Her answer, though, garnered a shrug from the pale blonde as he drank his newly acquired soda. **"Oh well, can't say I have much of a reason to complain anyway. It's pretty cold in between realities. Only yourself to talk to and even fewer things to do. Hm...WELP! Now that I'm back, I'll uphold my contract until such time comes to crunch down on her soul and then I guess I'll just move on. I wonder what there is to do in a place like this? Technology seems to have advanced pretty far in the last thousand years."**

The room was quiet as the Titans couldn't bring themselves to fully grasp what he had just said. Robin spoke up once he found his voice. "Um...I'm not sure we all heard you. You're going to...eat her soul?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders once again and tossed his can into the nearby trashcan. **"It's just one of those deity things, I guess. I'm not the one who designed this contract in the first place so don't go getting on me for it. To be honest, it was probably just one of those other gods trying to make me out to seem like a bad guy."**

"Destroying an entire galaxy could do that too, ya know."

Beast Boy's snarky comment got a chuckle out of the blonde as he leaned back on the counter. **"I suppose you're right about that one, Green Bean. But, in my defense, it wasn't like I wanted to do it in the first place."**

This caught the Titans off guard, namely Raven. "All the legends state that you were a violent, malicious entity. You wiped out entire systems simply because you could!"

Naruto shook his head with an aggravated look. **"See, this is why I always hated legends and all that stupid shit. I'll admit, I don't think they were wrong for sealing me away, but even those all-seeing deities couldn't see past their own noses. Shit, probably still can't. When I first came to this universe, a bunch of weird shit was going on. I couldn't and still can't remember any life before that time. Imagine being an all-powerful being, just appearing with no idea of what's going on. People worshipped me, but at the same time they feared me. I remember why it all began."**

The blonde deity stepped away from the counter and began to play with what looked like an oversized atom he created. The Titans all drew closer, intent on hearing the story. **"When I first appeared, I was drifting through nothing. All around me I could see stars and balls of gas and dirt. I did not eat, sleep or breathe. I simply existed. As time went by I began to understand the things that I could do. I could create. I could destroy. As I drifted through space, I fell to a planet and became a god to its inhabitants. Turns out, though, I had broken a few rules I didn't know about."**

He came to sit on the massive couch and leaned back with a huff. **"Another deity ruled over that planet. I encroached on his territory without even knowing it. He thought I was some sort of false prophet or whatever and tried to kill me. Every single time, I just came back. After about the tenth time I got tired of it and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. I willed him to die. To disappear. But he didn't come back like I did. I'm special like that. He wasn't. Simple as that. Well that caught everyone else's attention. These gods came for me and tried to wipe out the people who worshipped me when they realized they couldn't kill me, thinking that I got my powers from their worship. Useless pieces of shit, if you ask me. The gods, not the people. Just...just to clarify."**

Raven held up her hand and he stopped immediately. "You mean you wiped out a galaxy because of the other Gods killing your followers? In the history of even our own galaxy this happens all the time. Gods wiping out civilizations because they were slighted." Naruto kept his emotions in check, not wanting to anger his master, despite her shortsightedness. **"Well, I didn't exactly ask to be targeted, now did I? The men, women and children didn't ask for it either. They were killed because I broke the rules. Not them. I had to rectify. They needed justice. For the next couple thousand years I wiped out countless Gods and Goddesses. Then? Well, you know the rest. Destroyed a galaxy, came to the little ol' Milky Way, they thought I was gonna do the same thing, we fought, I killed a few and the rest is history!"**

Robin shook his head to clear his thoughts. "So let me get this straight. Raven...you summoned a god killing god that destroyed an entire galaxy. This god is also bound to you until he eats your SOUL, which afterwards he's going to have no one to keep him in check?"

Naruto nodded and willed his play atom out of existence. **"That about sums it up, shorty. Though, to be honest I'm not sure how the whole soul eating thing is going to work. Only had that one other contract before this and I didn't even eat the guys soul. Pretty sure that was just a loophole, what with the sealing between realities and all that jazz."**

"I wasn't asking you."

The blondes red eyes narrowed dangerous and Robin soon found himself paralyzed and suspended in the air while the other Titans minus Raven prepared to attack. He voice changed to a deeper, more guttural tone, a far cry from his normally gruff yet alluring one. **"You'll find very quick, young fool, that YOU do not speak to ME in such a manner. Raven Roth is my master for the duration of my contract and is the only one I shall tolerate to address me with such...disrespect. Continue doing what you just did, and I won't hesitate to wipe you from existence. You won't even exist as a memory."**

With his threat looming over the Caped Crusaders protege, he let him down and let his head fall back against the couch as he rested his eyes. **"Now, if you don't mind, Raven Roth, I'm going to get some sleep. Drifting in the nothingness between realities isn't exactly a comfortable place to get some shut-eye."**

Raven said nothing, so he took it as consent. As he drifted off into his dreams, the other Titans let their guards lower as Robin spoke up. "Raven, you have to find some way out of this and put him back where he came from!"

The grey skinned sorceress lowered her head and pulled her hood up as she tried to gain control of the tempest of emotions going through her head. On one hand she completely understood the paranoid nature of the Boy Wonder. She had somehow summoned THE most dangerous being the universe had ever known and most likely WILL ever know. Even her father didn't elicit as much terror as the slumbering deity did in the past. On the other hand, a part of her was...excited? With him here, she had access to the knowledge of an entirely different galaxy that has been dead for over ten thousand years. Plus, realistically, there was no way out. For all intents and purposes, she had the power of the universe at her command.

As she gathered her thoughts, the Titans were arguing.

"He saved friend Raven from Trigon! Surely this god cannot be as evil as the legends make him seem."

"Honestly, I have to agree with Robin. This guy can't be good news."

"Cy is right! I mean, this guy seems pretty dangerous if he can kill GODS!"

"ENOUGH!"

The room grew quiet as all eyes went to Raven. Despite her outburst, she remained calm as she took a seat beside the blonde. "There's no way out of this contract. What's done is done. For the time being he is under control and will do as I say. A deal with a god is unbreakable by either party." Robin huffed and began to walk away, as did the other Titans, none of them wanting to be near the Deity of the End. Raven, however, sat on the floor in front of the couch and began to levitate into her meditation.

 **-X-X-X-**

Minutes soon turned into an hours as Naruto began to wake up. The sun was down and the moon was high in the sky. **_'It's been far too long since I had the pleasure of sleeping on anything with a cushion. Unfortunately, I have other things that I need to take care of.'_** As he opened his eyes, he noticed the essence of pride still levitating in a trance-like state. **_'Hm...I suppose I could've been linked to an idiot. Little Roth is at least a looker.'_**

He sat up and looked down at the sorceress. **"Hey, little Roth."**

"My name is Raven. Please don't call me Roth."

He held up his hand in defense to the unflinching teen. **"Understood, Raven. You know, just for future reference, since I'm bound to you, you don't have to say all that polite 'please' shit. You're my master until you die. I am yours to command."**

"I'm aware. But would you rather us at least be polite with each other?"

Naruto shrugged and began to play around with the remote to their television. **"Hey, whatever you want, Raven. I don't care one way or the other, but regardless of our feelings on the situation, we need to lay down some ground rules."**

This got Raven's attention and she opened her eyes, still levitating. "What're you talking about?"

 **"** **I had a long time to think in that void between realities and I've ultimately learned that while in the grand scheme of things, almost everyone is the same, people have different ways of doing things. If I am going to being serving you, I need to know what restraints you wish to preemptively place me under."**

The indigo sorceress raised a brow at this and let herself lower to the floor. "You actually WANT me to restrain you?" The blonde shook his head and scratched the back of his neck. **"Well, I'd prefer it if you didn't, but what with you being...a hero, I guess, I figured you'd have some sort of rulebook or something. Like some bullshit of not killing people. All you heroes are all about that self-righteous crap, right?"**

A new voice was heard behind him before Raven could speak. "We do have rules. Since you being here is unavoidable for the time being, you are going to be following the same rules that all of the Titans do."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head to see the young masked hero Robin coming through the main door. **"Hey, little Grayson, what'd I say about you thinking that you can talk to me like that?"**

"Don't."

The blonde deity huffed and turned back to Raven. **"As you wish, Raven. Anyways, what orders do you wish of me?"**

Raven sighed and stood with her chin between her index finger and thumb in thought. "Just...follow orders for now. Robin is pretty much our leader so his orders are mine. Disobeying him is the same as disobeying me."

Naruto grumbled and huffed. **"You mean you just follow this little brats orders? You do realize that you could just wipe him out and take over the team, right?"**

Raven narrowed her eyes at the blonde and he stopped his line of thought, outwardly. "Robin was trained by Batman, one of the founding members of the Justice League. He is one of our smartest members, so yes, we follow his orders. Sometimes..."

Naruto chuckled. **"So you're saying that if you disagree, you just disobey him?"**

Her eyes remained narrowed, as did Robin's own. "What're you getting at, Deity of the End?"

The blonde god put his hands behind his head and leaned back, doing his best to ignore the ire in his tone. **"Why, nothing at all, little Grayson. Just a thought, is all. And please...if I'm going to be following your...orders, call me Naruto. I want us to be friends after all!"**

Robin glared at the blonde before turning his back and walking back through the door. "Just don't kill anyone. For now, that'll be enough."

Naruto sucked his teeth and stood with a stretch. **"You're no fun, kid. Sometimes killing is half the fun of a fight!"**

Robin shot the blonde one final glare as the door closed, leaving him alone with Raven once more. "You could at least be a little more polite. Since you're here until I die, you'll be dealing with all of them."

The blonde rolled his eyes and walked to the window, gazing out over Jump City with an almost unnoticeably forlorn look in his eyes. **"I understand, Raven. I request that you please don't take my disregard for little Grayson as wanton disrespect. I simply don't appreciate his sense of...superiority. My contract is with you and you alone. If you wish for me to take his orders then I shall, but his belief of entitlement that he can just order ME around without any RIGHT?! Hm...makes a part of me wishes he was one of your enemies."**

Raven just shook her head and made her own way to the door. "I'm going to bed. I would suggest you do the same, because tomorrow, I would almost guarantee Robin is going to have us going out on patrol. With the city back to normal, we are going to need to make sure that nothing is out of place and no on gets any bad ideas."

He nodded and crossed his arms. **"I don't need to sleep. Just woke up ya know. But I will be ready to move to your orders, Raven."**

The sorceress spared him one last glance, taking in his form against the moonlit skyline of Jump City. When he wasn't being disrespectful, or talking for that matter, he exuded a sense of dominance like a true god. Taking her eyes away and making her way down the hall, her mind was still in shock at the situation, no matter what she tried to do. _'A god who destroyed an entire galaxy...it's just...this is insane...'_

As Raven was relaxing in her room and falling to sleep, Naruto still stood looking over the city. His piercing red eyes scanned over the city like an eagle, sensing the lives of every living soul. Observing families with their lives back. A daughter in tears caught in the arms of a resurrected father. A husband doting over his healed wife. An unfamiliar look in his eyes, the blonde turned away from the massive view and sat back on the couch, trying to figure out how to work the television. Finally getting it to work, he leaned back and started to flip through channels, missing a voice that passed through his head, as if carried by a faint breeze.

 ** _"_** ** _You did good, kid. I just hope you enjoy it for once."_**

 ** _END:_**

 **I do hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. I hope it wasn't too stuffed. I'm just gonna leave this here and look forward to the next few chapters of TDCBH!**

 **Elemental Shadow Out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm glad for the reception of this story! I have my little brother typing up the chapters to TDCBH word for word from my notebooks and then I'm going to be editing and posting them. Well, so far the reception is good, and since I love both of these series I have no issues continuing.**

 **Start!**

 **The Man Who Would Be God**

 **Chapter Two:**

 **Breaking the Rules**

Morning came to Jump City and with it, a new threat that sent an alarm blasting through the entirety of the Titan Tower. This alarm caused Naruto, who sat lazily in front of of the television, to groan in irritation as his new favorite show was interrupted by the monitor flashing to a series of security cameras. Before he could really get a good look at it, the Titans came bursting through the door ready to move.

Naruto stood and stretched, sending a look to the Boy Wonder with a smirk. **"It's just never a dull moment here is it? One day it's demons killing everything and the next it's...a costume party, I suppose?"**

Beast Boy groaned and looked ready to burst into tears at the sight on the television. "Awwwwww c'mon, man! The H.I.V.E?! Can't those guys just take a few days off?! Weren't they dead yesterday?!"

Naruto nodded and snapped his fingers, his outfit changing to something more fitting for the environment of a city. He wore a pair of normal blue jeans, tan military-like boots and a white shirt with a plain, dark, burnt orange jacket. **"Besides you snazzy little youngsters, the entire city was barren of life when I was summoned. When I tore away reality to recreate the city, everything and everyone was either fixed or brought back to life."**

Robin sighed and looked away from the monitor to the god. "That's just great. That means that Brother Blood and Slade are back. Which probably means the H.I.V.E Academy is back up and running. I'm starting to really not like you, Naruto. You're proving to be trouble already."

The blonde god simply shot him a look but immediately withdrew it when he caught sight of Ravens displeased expression. Turning back to the screen, he kept his eyes on the three teens moving in and out of the bank vault. **"Luckily for you, Boy Wonder, you don't have to worry about hurting my feelings. The feeling is mutual. I'm here to protect Raven. Not to be your friend. Now please tell me what's going on here? I get that they're robbing the place, but why on earth are they dressed like idiots? No offense of course...** ** _damn eyesore._** **"**

Robin shook his head and motioned for everyone to move. "Maybe if you do a good job at helping us, we'll explain when we get back. But right now we don't have any time to talk. We need to get to the bank and stop them!"

Naruto choked back a growl as he walked past the god. **"Hmmm...whatever. I'll see you guys when you get there. Raven, with your permission, I will go ahead and keep anyone innocent from straying into the crossfire. This could get pretty messy."**

Before Robin could object, Raven gave him a quick nod and within seconds, he was just...gone. Robin sighed and stared at Raven. "You need to think before you just let him do what he wants, Raven."

The indigo sorceress turned her back and began moving towards the entrance. "He won't do anything I don't approve of. Besides, I already told him to start being more polite and given his attitude yesterday compared to just then, he's doing what I say. You should probably do the same. He's going to be here for a long times it is."

Starfire and the rest followed after her, leaving Robin to sigh once more until he followed suit.

"I just don't trust him. You shouldn't either."

 **-X-X-X-**

"C'mon guys! We need to hurry up! You know those stupid snot-gobbling Titans are going to be here any minute!"

Civilians littered the ground, cowering in fear as the tiny techno-wiz Gizmo kept them in place through use of the multiple weapons that were aimed for the poor people. In the open vault, a massive man came out with five massive bags of gold under each arm and a grin on his face. Mammoth moved surprisingly quick as he ran outside and threw the bags into a semi trailer before running back in. Standing by the door, the grey-skinned, pink-haired Jinx was leaning against the wall with a foot propped up and a playful expression across her face as she looked at the women on the ground, thinking about stealing a pair of heels.

"Oh don't worry so much, Giz. We can take those goody-two-shoes."

 **"** **Hey, who knows! Maybe you can. The real question is; can you take little ol' me?"**

The new voice gave pause to all three of the young super villains and even the civilians, stopping Mammoth in his tracks and causing all eyes to turn to the newly appeared blonde god. He sat in a chair behind a desk with his hands steepled and a kind grin on his face, showing off his terrifying fangs. Before any of them could question him, though, he snapped his fingers and the civilians on the ground disappeared from sight, leaving only the four of them left in the Bank of Perez. His eyes casually observed the three before him as Gizmo pointed all of his mechanical weapons at the deity. "Who are you, barf-brain?!"

Naruto shook his head and sat back in his chair, laying his hands in his lap and keeping his smile up. **"I am Naruto! It's quite the pleasure to meet such young go-getters such as yourselves! The hulking titan Mammoth, the hyper-intelligent Gizmo and the...rather alluring witch, Jinx. It's my current job to keep you from hurting anyone until the Titans get here. I do hope you'll keep me entertained. After all...we don't have much time!"**

All three of them narrowed their eyes at the blonde and Gizmo quickly fired at him while Jinx sent a wave of her bad luck energy at the lights around him, hoping to overload them and cause an explosion. Unfortunately for them, Naruto made every bullet disappear and the energy dissipate harmlessly into the air. His smile fell and his eyes became cold very quickly. **"Now...that wasn't very nice. Was it? Children are so rude to their elders now. Back in my day, kids listened before they tried to kill someone!"**

Jinx stepped back as Mammoth charged in before she could even try stop him. The blonde god pointed a finger at him and he froze with his fist a mere inch from the deities face. Mammoth strained against the unknown force that bound him, veins popping out all over his forehead, but sadly to no avail. Standing and walking around the desk, Naruto sat against the edge beside the hulking beast. He poked him lightly, tipping his frozen body and causing him to fall helplessly to the ground with a light chuckle. He casually unfroze him and he clamored away as quickly as he could. **"You kids are pretty rude. Anyone ever tell you that?"**

The room was silent, as the three young heist partners had no idea what to do. The deity huffed and crossed his arms, looking pretty annoyed. **"C'mon, you guys are really killing the mood here. The Titans are going to be here any minute and I want to have at least a little bit of fun. Trigon certainly tried to show me a good time, but he couldn't keep up. Old age I think. But...then again...if he couldn't keep up then how could I expect you to? Hm... damn it...what to do, what to do... Oh! I know! I'll give you guys one free shot! That's how all the tough people do it here, right? I saw it on that fancy T.V. thing last night!"**

Gizmo glared at him and reoriented his aim on the blonde. "That's really stupid, punk. All I have to do is aim right for that stupid little head of yours and this is going to be over for you in an instant."

Naruto smiled and chuckled while raising an eyebrow. **"Go right on ahead, kiddo!"** He pointed a clawed digit right a the center of his forehead. **"Aim right here, just for good meas-"**

A shot rang through the air, making Jinx jump slightly in surprise. Naruto fell back onto the desk, unmoving. Gizmo smirked as Mammoth got back to his feet. "Heh, that stupid fart-licker had it coming anyway."

Jinx shook her head and sighed with a light frown marring her face. "It's a shame, really. He was kinda cute. Anyways, let's go guys! we lost a lot of time with him here. We have enough as it is and we need to get out before the Titans show up!"

As they tried to moved for the exit, the door quickly slammed shut. The air in the room became colder as the lights began to flicker on and off. **"Good shot..."**

Slowly, their heads turned to see Naruto sitting against the desk as if nothing ever happened. His grin was back in place as dark magic swirled lightly around his form. **"Too bad for you, though, kid. You took your little teams one shot at ending this."**

Before they could react, he disappeared and Mammoth went flying into the open vault, the door slamming closed and locking. Jinx quickly released a pulse of energy but all she accomplished was to short out the lights around them, leaving Gizmo and herself in darkness with only the light from the windows to see. Unfortunately for them, it was overcast to a degree that the sun could barely pierce the cloud cover. The tech genius quickly brought down night vision goggles and observed the room, finding no one but his partner in crime. "Crap! Where'd he go?!"

 **"** **I'm right here."**

Gizmo couldn't even gasp as an unknown force wrapped around his body, crushing his tech-pack and several of his bones, sending him into unconsciousness in nearly an instant. Jinx, hearing this, jumped away and began to sporadically send out wave after wave of energy, unaware she was hitting nothing but air.

Naruto, in the darkness, watched in amusement as the girl let her fear begin to rule her. His dark chuckle rang through the room and Jinx stopped, opting to gather her energy. Naruto slowly stalked forward, the thud of his boots making the grey witch flinch with each step. "Wait!"

The blonde deity stopped and crossed his arms. **"God damn it...What?! That stupid bird is going to get here any minute and I'd rather have this wrapped up before he does."**

Jinx stammered and backed up until her back hit the wall. "W-w-why don't you join us?! If you do we can make you rich! We can give you whatever you want! Anything!"

All was silent for a moment until she heard his voice all around her once more. **"Can you free me?"**

This caught her by surprise, but she couldn't answer, because she had no answer to give. In an instant, she felt a hand close around her throat and begin to lift her into the air. As she gasped for air and rose into the air, she couldn't help but gaze into the two blood red orbs that glared up at her with a grave malice that flowed through the room in waves.

 **"** **Do not make an offer you cannot follow through on, fool. The consequences can be...fatal."**

As his grip tightened around her throat, the door of the bank burst open, shining the nearly nonexistent sunlight of the outside world into the dark lobby. The Teen Titans rushed in to see the vault closed, Gizmo unconscious and blonde god choking the life out of Jinx. Robin rushed up and tried to free the young villain, only for him to be blown back by a wave of magic. The other Titans all got into a battle stance as Naruto's eyes began to glow.

 **"** **Raven..."**

The dark sorceress was quiet as the god before her spoke. **"May I end this ones life? Her very existence...irks me..."**

Raven let her guard down and began to slowly move towards him. "Naruto, put her down. We don't kill. Knock her out and let that be the end of it."

The contract that bound him to her was working beyond his own being to force him to do as she said, but he fought it. If it strained him to disobey, he did not show it. As she neared him, he began to shake unwillingly with his grip on his enemy slipping. "Release her and knock her out. If you kill her, you'll regret it."

Naruto growled as the girl slipped out of his hand and backed away as quickly as she could into a corner, not too far away. He shot Raven a look, though in the darkness that shrouded his face, she couldn't see it. **"If I cannot kill her...then may I hurt her?"**

Robin stepped forward with a pair of handcuffs in hand, having already cuffed Gizmo. "No, we need her in a position to talk. You said that you fixed everything. That means we need to know if the H.I.V.E Academy is back up and running like it was before."

His glare began to make his eyes glow as the shadows themselves came to life and swirled around him. **"Raven...may I? If what you need is information, then I would be honored to oblige if you would allow me this."**

Raven was caught between a rock and a hard place. Robin was obstinate in his position to take her in. Being what the Titans considered to be the leader of their little troupe, he wasn't one to have his authority questioned. It wasn't him that spoke up, though. It was Cyborg. "C'mon, man. You already beat her. Just let it go."

Naruto turned to face the cybernetic teen and pointed at Jinx cowering in the corner. **"You believe her to be beaten?! Don't make me laugh! When you take her away, she will break free and continue this in an endless cycle! When you first found out they were responsible back at the tower, you were unsurprised, only disgruntled from their persistence. There is NO end! Either you break them, or kill them."**

Cyborg jumped back with his sonic cannon at the ready as the shadows lashed out at the ground in front of him. "Don't make me hurt you!" Starfire began to charge up her star bolts and Beast Boy had gone and transformed into a raptor. Robin and Raven had their own thoughts, knowing that Naruto couldn't hurt them willingly so long as Raven controlled him. As all of this happened, Jinx still refused to move as Naruto began to laugh. **"You?! Hurt ME?! Don't be stupid, CHILD! I killed gods! I ended an entire galaxy! Do not make me end you!"**

He rounded on Raven, who remained silent, and approached her in an instant, towering over the dark sorceress. **"You are not like your friends, Raven. You know what I say is true. If you wish them to stop, but will not kill them, she must be broken. She must learn that there are consequences for her actions!"**

She turned away, refusing to admit that, to a degree, she knew he was right. Robin pulled out one of his birdarangs that had been designed by Batman for him to combat Superboy, should he every try to turn on them . "Don't do this, Naruto. Raven won't let you do what you want. Don't try to convince her."

Naruto wasn't listening, though. He walked back around so she would be facing him and tried to look her in the eyes. **"Please...you know I'm right. I'm not here to do what I want. I am here to do one thing. Let me do my job, Raven. Let me destroy your enemies!"**

Her eyes gravitated towards the cowering bad luck witch in the corner as she began to contemplate his words.

"Friend Raven, please don't listen to him! He's trying to trick you!"

"NARUTO!"

His grin was large enough that Robin could've sworn he saw it in the darkness that surrounded him and his master. **"Yes, Raven?"**

Her eyes never left the witch, though her voice did waver slightly as she gave her order. "Do not kill her. That is your only order."

The Boy Wonder jumped in between Jinx and Naruto, ready to fight. "Raven, don't let him do this! We don't do this! This isn't us!"

Naruto waved his hand and the young man was frozen in place, though still conscious. **"I have been given an order and I cannot disobey. Don't interfere, boy."**

He stalked towards the frightened girl who tried to blast him away, but there was nothing she could do. Every attempt was met with a grin at her futility. **"Please...don't be afraid, child. When I'm through, you will have new meaning to your life! You will truly understand how wrong you are. You will be born again!"**

She had nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. "Please, help me!" Naruto's grin was plastered firmly in place. with a snap of his fingers, the Titans that had begun to move to protect her stopped just as the Boy Wonder had. Raven was the only one unaffected. Cyborg was struggling to the point that the tech that made up his body began to spark. "Raven, stop him! Don't let him do this!"

The blonde god once more had the grey-skinned Jinx in his grasp, his grin becoming sadistic as he slammed her against the wall. **"My little Jinx...I'll let you decide. Which should I break first? Your arm? Or your leg?"**

Struggle as she did, it mattered not. She slammed a fist against his face, but it did not faze him one bit. Instead, all it did was make her wince and scream in pain as his grin got larger. **"Your arm it is then! I'm glad to have such a willing participant!"**

With a movement so quick, he smashed Jinx against the floor on her stomach, making her scream once more as he slammed his heel onto her upper arm. Reaching down, he grabbed her wrist and slowly stood up straighter, pulling until the pressure forced him to stop and her screams had woken Mammoth in the vault, who's efforts were futile in his attempts to get out. Naruto's smile was dangerously threatening to split his face as he began to speak, his dark tone coming back.

 **"** **Come now, deep down you know this is your fault! I gave you new life! I brought you back! I brought this entire city back from the HELL that Skaath brought upon you all! And how do you think to repay my kindness?! The very next day you decide to rob these kind people of their money! Innocent people who have done nothing to you!"**

As he spoke, the tension in her arm began to reach its ultimate limit. Her bones began to crack and the pain shot through her body like a small bolt of lightning, but...she could not scream anymore. The pain in her body had left her a crying mess already. Naruto's smile left his face and formed a dark frown. Yanking her arm back, the snap of the bone echoed out and her screams began once more, allowing his grin to grace his features once more. **"Hmm...that's better! I can't quite place it, but something about your screams make me...happy! I know I'm a sadist, but...you scream JUST the right way."**

The blonde deity released her arm and it flopped uselessly to the floor. Stepping off of the crying girl, he paced in a circle around her with his hands behind his back as she slowly tried to crawl to the one who commanded the god. Interested in her pleas for mercy, his grin turned to a dark smirk. "P-please...please tell him to stop! Please! This isn't right!"

His sadistic chuckle made her whimper in fear. Without a word, he slammed his foot back down on her once more, this time shattering her femur. **"Do not think to speak to my master!"**

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah! P-ple-he-he-he-ease! Stop! I'll join the Titans! I'll quit this! Please! Stop!"

Her black eyeliner was smeared down her cheeks and even Raven, who had turned her back so as not to have to watch, felt pity for the young villain. When she heard the bones begin to snap the first time, she had even flinched. The other Titans were having their own reactions, as they were actually facing the torture. Starfire had begun to cry and Cyborg was screaming for him to stop. Robin and Beast Boy, who was still a Raptor, were growling at his sadistic nature.

With the crying, growling, screaming and laughing, Raven had had enough. She turned and leveled a glare at the blonde god. "That's enough, Naruto. Knock her out and be done with this!"

His grin disappeared into a face of pure disgust. **"As you wish, Raven."** With a swift movement, his foot once more crashed down, the time onto the girls head, slamming her face into the floor and ending her crying for the time being. With a wave of his hand, he released the other Titans from their paralyzed forms and their reactions were instant. The charge left him actually surprised as he felt Robins birdarang dig into his back. Cyborg blasted him back into the wall as Starfire barraged him with bolts of energy. Beast Boy stayed back, though, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of destructive energy. When the smoke from the assault subsided, Naruto pulled himself from the rubble of the wall and rolled his neck with an unamused look plastered firmly on his face.

 **"** **Ouch."**

Robin was quick, running up and grabbing him by his shirt. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" The blonde slapped his hands away and used his magic to push the Boy Wonder back. Fixing his jacket and shirt, he turned back to Raven who had her own glare still in place. **"Because I was ordered to break her."**

"I didn't tell you to torture her!"

 **"** **What did you expect?!"**

She jumped back. He had yet to yell at her and she honestly didn't expect it, as he had purported himself to have some sort of innate fear of her orders. He stalked forward and she actually began to back up, fear welling in her own heart. **"Did you think I would just slap her around a bit?! Bruise her up?! HUH?! NO!"**

His power swirled dangerously until Robin jumped after him, attempting to hit him with his Bo Staff. With a single flow of movements reminiscent of ninja-like skills, he quickly disarmed the Boy Wonder and snapped the staff in half. Lifting him up by the throat, he threw him into the other three Titans away from Raven. **"DO NOT TEST ME BOY!"**

"Stop NOW, Naruto!"

He turned back to Raven with a glare and she visibly startled at his actions. **"And you..."** He pointed an accusing finger at the sorceress and had her backing up into the wall. **"It's obvious to me that you lack conviction! You summoned me! A god that was known for being ruthless! How can you doing such a thing and not understand what you were getting yourself into?!"**

Her back now firmly against the wall, he slammed his fist beside her head, easily blasting a whole through the feeble bricks. **"Tell me, Raven! Tell me what YOU would do! Oh great and powerful Daughter of Skaath, would you have been merciful?! Your enemy lives! If there was one thing I could respect from the despicable being that is your father, it's that he dealt with any who stood against him without mercy! He understood that an enemy left alive was another knife that was ready to stab him in the back! I had you figured as a smart girl, Raven. But it turns out that you are just as pathetic as your little friends."**

Turning away, he went back to the downed form of Jinx and lifted her into the air. Gathering magical power into his other palm, he created a knife and poised it right at her throat. Raven ran at him and tried to use her own magic to pull the blade away, but it didn't work. "Stop! Stop now!"

Naruto smirked and turned to look at her out of the corner of his eyes, resisting her orders with every fiber of his being. **"You see...I would listen to you right now, but...I disagree with your orders. You lack the conviction to do what is necessary. Luckily, the defenses in your mind are weak. Deep inside, there is a part of you that knows this is what must be done. So, needless to say, I am going to listen to that little voice."**

Her eyes widened before immediately glaring at him. "You went inside my head?!"

He chuckled and turned back to Jinx, but was met with a fist slamming into his face for the second time today. Robin had tried to surprise him, but found that he had only hurt himself. Naruto rolled his eyes and ignored the Boy Wonder as he nursed his now broken fist. **"You humans truly are a race ruled by your emotions. You claim to fight for the good of your city, but, heh, honestly it seems like you're fighting harder to protect an enemy than you did against even Skaath. Pathetic."**

It was swift. He didn't torture her, or mutilate her. He simply removed her head from her shoulders. There was no scream. The room was silent as the other Titans look on in both surprise and fear. Dropping the now dead body to the floor, Naruto made the knife vanish and turned back to Raven. **"Ultimately, this is what you wanted, Raven. You know it's true. Just accept it. This is what happens to the enemies of the strong. You wish to protect the people of this world? You MUST be ruthless! People like her must die. Speaking of which..."**

He snapped his fingers and Mammoth and Gizmo appeared, floating unconscious in front of him. He walked around them, pacing in the same manner as with Jinx. The Titans wanted to do something about it, but ultimately knew they would be nothing but a minor irritation to the god. Robin, who had recovered from the initial pain of his broken hand and wrist, stood and kept his glare leveled on him while he shook from the occasional jolts of pain. "Don't..you dare..do it..."

Naruto growled and huffed before shaking his head and walked back to sit at the desk. Putting his feet up, he leaned back and put his hands behind his head with a small smile. **"So you want to do it yourself?"**

"No! Killing them is wrong!"

The blonde god rolled his eyes and leveled them on the young Tamaranian that had decided to speak up. **"Tell me, young Koriand'r; why is showing your enemy the same lack of mercy they exhibit upon the innocent, wrong?"**

She tried to come up with and answer, but was too slow to reply with Beast Boy, now turned back to his human form, answering in her place. "We have to show that we are better than them. If we just kill them whenever we want, then are we really any better?"

Raven, and the other Titans, were actually surprised at his moment of insight, with Cyborg commenting on it and bringing the green-skinned teen down a peg. Naruto, however, was unimpressed. **"You think that killing a single man, who has killed thousands, is going to demean you in the public eye? You actually care? A group of kids with enough power alone to conquer a small country, is afraid of what people think of them? You lot are pathetic."**

Robin stepped forward, still nursing his poor hand. "We're pathetic because we think people deserve a second chance?" The deity shook his head. **"Of course not! Does a man deserve a second chance after he shows up late to work? Of course! It was a fluke. Does a man deserve a second chance after killing all of the innocent people in an entire building? No. Even after he begs for forgiveness, claiming to have learned the errors of his ways? No. He has become an unknown variable. These two here..."** He pointed a lazy finger at the remaining two of the small H.I.V.E group. **"They have fought you numerous times and have yet to change. So, there is only one answer to this perpetuating conundrum. They. Must. Die. Simple, isn't it?"**

Raven used her own powers to release the two from the blondes godly energy. "You sound like a self-righteous murderer and less like a god the more you speak." Naruto shrugged and closed his eyes. **"So you don't appreciate my contribution to your corrupt society, my master?"**

"No. I do not."

He sighed and stood to pace around the room once more. **"This is going to be a long and arduous road. Fine then."** Stopping in front of the corpse of Jinx, he snapped his fingers and, in an instant, she was brought back to life with her head reappearing on her shoulders, coughing and gasping for air. Robin was wide-eyed as were the rest, as his bones mended as well. **"In an act of good will, I have removed her powers. She is now no more dangerous than a lost puppy."**

This caught Raven by surprise and she wasn't going to hide her confusion. "You can just remove someones powers?" The blonde god sighed and nodded while sending a rather annoyed look to his master. **"Don't act like this surprises you. I am a god. I just brought her back to LIFE, and you are questioning my stripping her of her powers? Please...just don't question it."**

Robin was rolling his hand around and sent the god a wary eye. "Why bother killing her then? If you could've just taken her powers away, then why kill her?" Naruto looked over to the Boy Wonder and gave another sigh. **"They are YOUR enemies. As a protector, your enemies must fear you. The fear of death is the single most powerful thing in this universe. The inevitable end. Should they begin to fear that you will kill them, they will begin to question their actions. This becomes a powerful deterrent to even street level criminals. When I ruled over my planet before the gods banded together, I protected the innocent from those who wished to bring harm upon them. I had no prisons. I had no crime, for they knew that if they slighted another and it was grave enough to reach my attention, they were immediately brought before me and submitted to the same pain they administered. If you decided that you wanted to take a man or woman by force, you were shown that same pain. The punishment truly fit the crime. This fear brought my world to a truly utopian state. There were no wars. There was no death outside of natural causes."**

He glared at the young hero who shuddered as he felt a cold chill run down his spine. **"You do not have the conviction to truly help your city, Grayson. You are not willing to make the tough decisions of who must die to truly make this city a safe place. You and your team are the true enemies of the innocent people who live here. You bring them a false hope that is far more dangerous than any level of fear they could ever experience."**

Starfire piped in, confused and hurt by his statement. "But...how is hope dangerous?"

Naruto looked over to the girl and made her take a step back. **"You give these people hope. Hope that they will be saved. Whenever you stop these pathetic little villains, that hope grows in their hearts. They come to believe nothing bad can happen to them. That you will protect them. When they get free, though, they will lose hope in their heroes. You are only delaying what could very well be their last days on this planet when you allow your enemies to live. Go on ahead, though. Keep throwing this scum in jail. Let that hope grow until it comes crashing down upon you and they call for your heads. Because when that day comes..."**

He turned and began to fade from reality, returning to the Titan Tower.

 **"** **Even a god cannot save you from your fate."**

 **END:**

 **There's the next chapter! The next chapter of TDCBH is currently being proofread so look forward to it!**

 **Elemental Shadow Out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am so happy with the reception of this story! So far all that has come up is suggestions and positive feedback! Well, without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

 **Start!**

 **The Man Who Would Be God**

 **Chapter Three:**

 **Understanding**

"What?!"

Robin sat in his room with a grim look on his face as he spoke with his mentor, Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman. The Dark Knight was currently being informed of the situation dealing with the Deity of the End and his actions during the detainment of the H.I.V.E team. "I can assure you Bruce, everything I'm telling you is absolutely, one hundred percent true. This guy is claiming to be some sort of god. He's insanely strong and can apparently bring the dead back to life."

Batman rubbed the bridge of his nose and grumbled under his breath. "You mean to tell me that there is a god just running around and a member of your team JUST SO HAPPENS to control him?"

The Boy Wonder shook his head yes and sent images to Batman, which the Caped Crusader looked through with the vigor of a newly appointed detective. "This is concerning. What did he say his name was?"

"Naruto. He hasn't given us any sort of last name, but given the extent of his abilities and how prone he seems to be to violence, I'd prefer not to push the subject. What concerns me the most, however, is that he claims to have destroyed an entire galaxy."

Batman placed a thoughtful hand on his chin. "That's not too terribly uncommon amongst gods and goddesses who want to strike fear in the hearts of their enemies. I've never heard of a god that goes by the name he has given you, nor are there any records of him having ever existed up until now."

His protege nodded and sent over another document that outlined everything that the deity had told them the night before. "That would make sense, since he claims that after Raven's father sealed him away with the help of the gods, all things pertaining to his existence were destroyed. He says that he has been sealed away for only one thousand years. Given how long the gods of Olympus alone have been bouncing around, that seems pretty young for a god of his caliber."

His mentor was lost in thought before he began to type something into the Bat Computer. "The information you sent over is very concerning and this cannot be ignored. The daughter of Trigon is one thing. Someone claiming to be a god is something else entirely. I'm going to contact the rest of the members of the Justice League and we are going to come to evaluate his level of safety for ourselves. Do not, under any circumstances, provoke him if it can be avoided. That is an order, Robin."

Begrudgingly, the Boy Wonder nodded quickly. "I understand, Bruce. I'll inform you immediately if the situation changes. Robin out." Immediately, the screen cut out and Robin sighed while leaning back in his chair.

 **"** **He seems like a real hard ass."**

Robin quickly jumped up and pulled out his Bo Staff, ready to fight, but came face to face with the Deity of the End himself. "What are you doing in here? This is a private room and that was a conversation that you had no right to eavesdrop on."

Naruto chuckled and walked around the chamber and came to a wall of weapons. **"The right? You really do have a pair on you, Grayson. For some reason...it reminds me of someone. Hm...can't place it right now so it doesn't matter. So WHY wasn't I supposed to hear it, hm? Think I'm a threat?"** The god disappeared and reappeared right behind him with his mouth dangerously close to his ear as he spoke.

 **"** **You don't trust me?"**

Robin jumped away and tried to swipe at him, but he disappeared once again. "That should be easy enough to figure out for someone claiming to be an all-powerful god."

Naruto reappeared in his chair at the computer and gave him a very small grin. **"The funny thing about you, Grayson, is that you have all the makings of the perfect protector in you already. You are trained by an All-Star hero, you have a defined sense of justice and if all of those nice little memories in your head are anything to go by, you've got quite the tragic backstory! Dead parents, killed by the mafia. You are borderline perfect! But, you lack conviction."**

Robin lowered his Bo Staff and went to go hang it up, realizing what the blonde was trying to do already. "You aren't going to convince me to kill anyone, so you can go on ahead and stop before you waste the breath."

The blonde god actually laughed as Robin began to re-situate some of the things on his weapons rack. **"Think you have me all figured out, huh? That I'm just here to corrupt you? Please, you blistering eyesore, I could turn you into a sociopathic murderer with a snap of my fingers. You truly think that I just want you to blindly kill?"**

"You openly murdered Jinx in front of us when she had already surrendered. That wasn't justice. That was just plain murder. It doesn't matter that you brought her back."

Naruto sighed and stood up. **"Fine, I'm just the bad guy here, aren't I? Well, Mr. Grayson, since you are so adamant that killing someone who deserves it is** ** _just plain murder_** **, I'm going to leave you with a little question. How many people woke up one day, not realizing that it was going to be their last? How many mothers and fathers never saw their children again because they were stripped of their mortal coil? How many unborn children never got the chance to experience the life of a normal human being? Never got the chance to grow up, to fall in love? All because the Batman refused to kill the Joker?"**

Robin immediately rounded on the blonde deity, only to find that he had disappeared from his computer room. He quickly turned back around and threw a birdarang at the wall, embedding it so deep that when he went to retrieve it, he couldn't.

 _'_ _I need to take a break...'_

 **-X-X-X-**

In the garage, Cyborg toiled away underneath his baby, working on tuning up the T-Car. After the events at the Bank of Perez, he immediately secluded himself away in his safe space. Watching Jinx die and not being able to do anything about it was tantamount to torture for the cybernetic teen.

 **"** **It's understandable that you had some level of feelings for her, you know."**

"What the-OW!"

Cyborg was caught off guard and startled himself, banging his head on the transmission of the car. Sliding out from under the vehicle, he was met with the sight of Naruto toying around with a torque wrench. "What do you want?"

The deity flipped the wrench around and swung it like a sword as he talked to the cyborg. **"I'm bored, so I just want someone to talk to."**

He frowned and stood to go and grab something from his mini fridge to drink. "Well go and find someone else who actually WANTS to talk to you. I make it a point to stay away from psychos."

Naruto quickly appeared beside him with his own drink in hand, slurping it down annoyingly and making Cyborgs eyebrow twitch. **"I already tried to talk to Robin, but he's just so stiff! He's no fun. You seem like a nice guy, so I figured, 'Hey, why not talk to that Stone guy'?"**

Cyborg turned around and began to drink his soda. "Ok, you wanna talk? Let's talk. I tried to get you to stop. Jinx was done! Why didn't you just stop?!"

Naruto sighed and finished off his drink, vaporizing the can and leaning back agains the workbench he stood at. **"You gotta let that go, Vic. I brought the girl back! She's fine now."**

"You still killed her. So why don't you just get to stepping? I got nothing more to talk about."

The god rolled his eyes and began to toy around with the torque wrench again. **"You really do care about that girl, huh?"**

Cyborg walked up and grabbed him by his collar. "I told you, get stepping." Naruto grinned and patted him on the shoulder. **"It's ok, Vic. You don't have to hide those feelings from me. I'm the perfect person to talk to about it. Your secrets are always safe with me."**

Stone looked as though if he were an animal, he'd be growling. Until...he let go. "It started when I infiltrated the H.I.V.E. She was one of the first people I met. Welcomed me to the whole 'being a villain' thing. After awhile, I started getting these feelings, but with being a hero and all, you know how it goes, huh?"

The god shook his head. **"To be honest, I really don't. Never had anyone to love. But I do understand the concept and what it does to people. So...I suppose, in a way, I am sorry."**

This caught the cyborg off guard as he look at the deity, looking for a trick. **"I made it a point to try and stop people from losing the ones they love. That's why I began to implement the penalties that I did when I ruled as a god. So I truly do apologize for taking the one you care about right in front of you. Perhaps, had I known, I would've been slightly more merciful. I wouldn't have tortured her the way I did. I would've ended it quicker."**

This made Cyborg frown again. "So you still would've killed her?"

He nodded and waved his hand, bringing up a strange, portal-looking tear in reality. Cyborg noticed that the place he was looking at looked surprisingly like Earth, albeit far more advanced. **"This is the planet that I ruled over. This is what a true utopian society looks like, Victor. In this society, a man who took a life, lost his own in kind. Just as I have gone through everyones mind in the Tower, I scoured through her mind and then reality itself. She inadvertently caused plenty of people to die. To rob someone isn't so simple as taking the money and things they have earned. She took what they needed to survive. What they needed to keep going in life. A man who lost a treasured family heirloom killed himself, preferring that to telling his father that he had lost something that had been passed down for six generations. A mother who had lost four children and her husband lost her safety deposit box that held pictures of them. The only pictures that she had. She didn't have what you have here. She didn't have digital storage of those memories. When that was lost, she ended her own life. I could go on, but I won't. So, while I know you care about her, that doesn't change what she has done. Sometimes...people deserve to die."**

Cyborg, listening to the words the god spoke to him, watching the events unfold in front of him, looked to the ground. Naruto willed the tear away and placed a hand on his shoulder, garnering a confused look at the attempted comforting action. **"It's ok, Victor. I know that the very thought conflicts with everything you've ever thought. But you need to understand, killing one to save a thousand isn't an evil act. It is what a hero must do in order protect the ones he or she cares about. Just...think about it. I won't press the subject, so don't worry."**

And with his final words spoken, the Deity of the End disappeared, leaving Cyborg to his feelings and thoughts. The cybernetic teen sighed and went back to the T-Car in an attempt to clear his head and cheer himself up.

 **-X-X-X-**

Starfire found herself in her bathroom, showering in an attempt to scrub away how filthy she felt after having witnessed Jinx having her head severed from her shoulders. She had been in the shower so long that the water was freezing to the touch. Sitting on the ground in her shower with her knees to her chest, she still sniffled from time to time, as her crying had yet to subside.

Naruto appeared in the bathroom with nary a sound and heard the water running. Realizing that the alien girl was showering, he walked over to the toilet, out of the view of the nearly opaque door that separate himself from her. **"You're still pretty torn up over all of this, aren't you?"**

She didn't jump and continued to cry to herself, trying to drown out the voice of the blonde god. Naruto sighed and rubbed his face, trying to think of something that he could say. **"I wasn't trying to scar you, Koriand'r. That was far from my intention."**

He still received no answer and was beginning to get slightly irritated. Walking back in front of the door, he quickly slid it open, walked in, closed it and sat across from her crosslegged in the surprisingly spacious shower. This made her squeak and tried to shrink in on herself even more, if that were possible. Naruto's blood red eyes bore into her own green and she looked back down to the floor as the cold water poured over her form. **"You said before that I couldn't be as evil as everyone claimed I was. Do you still believe that?"**

The lack of answer only caused him to shake his head and he leaned back lazily against the wall under the shower head. **"Of course you don't. I'm pretty sure you have more than a few issues with how I do things."**

"I know you are not evil..."

Naruto looked surprised that she had spoken. Her mouth was hidden and she looked at him from the side, as if she was still in a way trying to hide from him. He had to admit, she looked cute like this. Her lack of dress was certainly a factor in this as well. **"Even after I killed Jinx?"**

She nodded and scooted away slightly. "I am a princess of Tamaran. We have warred with many worlds in the past. Killing has never been a mystery to my people. I am just unsure about my own capabilities in taking someones life."

Naruto was honestly surprised at the young alien. She wasn't against his views, but conflicted with her own capacity. **"Huh...that's actually pretty surprising. I half expected you to take bird-brains side in this whole ordeal."**

Starfire looked down. "There is not a side to take, Deity. Robin just wants to protect everyone. He has been taught by the Batman that taking a life is wrong. I admire his dedication to his morals, but as a warrior princess, I know what it takes to save someones life. I have never killed another person before, though."

The god nodded understandingly and leaned in slightly. **"You seem to have a grasp on the thought, at least."**

She shook her head lightly yes. "I do not know what it would be like, though. The thought of taking another life scares me."

Naruto stood and went to go sit beside the young alien and she scooted away, understandably embarrassed at her lack of dress in front of the god. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she did find the pale being attractive to a degree. **"Believe me, Koriand'r, it is not an easy task. To take another life is to take away everything that they are. You end their thoughts, their feelings and their beliefs. You must be at peace with yourself and understand the consequences of your actions to take a life for the right reasons."**

She buried her face in her knees and her speech became muffled slightly. "I do not think that I can do it for any reason..." Naruto, in an uncharacteristic act of true comfort, placed his hand on her head lightly. **"I will not make you try to take a life, young princess. I will only ask that you truly understand that what I do, I do not do it with malicious intent."**

Once more, the god made his tear in reality and brought forth images of his old world. She looked up and saw people with smiles on their faces and not a single thing was out of place. **"I will not lie, my utopia was achieved because they feared me. But in the end, my subjects were happy. There was the occasional fight, yes, but no man ever killed another once my rule became fully recognized. My people lived with the understanding that whatever they did unto another would be brought back to them full force by my own hand. The road was bumpy and had many detours, but after only two centuries, we had achieved true peace. A person no longer had to fear losing the ones they loved too soon. I want this for this world. I do not wish to rule over it as I once did, no. I want this world to be the utopia that mine once was. It is that simple. But...on the path to peace, blood must be spilt. Some people are too far gone into their ways to see the wrong of their actions."**

The teen alien kept watching as people walked along streets with floating vehicles flying overhead and robotic custodians working shops and the like. It was a peaceful scene, up until the first building was vaporized from existence. She gasped in fear as she watched ships descend upon the city and began to lay waste to everything. Naruto made it disappear quickly, but the damage was done. "W-what...what was happening?"

The god looked away and took his hand back. **"Remember, Koriand'r, the gods of the galaxy that I had inhabited did not take kindly to my actions against one of their own. They attacked my people, thinking that the power I possessed came from their worship. They were fools. They did not worship mean the same way their subjects worshiped them. I ruled over them to keep them safe from themselves. They feared and respected my power and took my word as law, but I did not require systematic worship. I only asked that they lived their lives to the fullest. It was terrible, though. When the other gods had bequeathed unto their subjects that I was a threat to their ways of life, one race came to wipe my people out. Who they were matters little, as for their actions I wiped their planet from the universe. When the gods destroyed my utopia, where peace truly reigned, I became spiteful of them. I declared true war."**

Starfire looked to the god and noticed the look on his face. He had a thousand yard stare that pierced the tiles in her shower and the water played over his features, making him look as though he had tears flowing down his cheeks. **"In the beginning, they fought me in the open. Each planet I came to, I pulled them from the fabric of time and space and began my systematic slaughter for their transgressions. Once they realized they couldn't kill me even after they had destroyed my 'followers', they began to hide. I then began my true hunt. I slaughtered them. When there was nothing left, I contemplated bringing my planet back to life, but at the time, I was still young and hotheaded. I know, it's not like I'm any different now. I disappeared to the center of the galaxy and began to consume all of the small scraps of life left and destroyed the galaxy. Even now, if I did bring them back, it wouldn't be the same. Somehow...I feel as though it would be wrong. Now they have achieved the ultimate peace."**

The princess had tears in her eyes and once more buried her face in her knees. "I'm sorry, Dei-..."

Naruto held up his hand and placed it on her knee. **"Do not apologize. I have another chance to achieve the same peace. And please...call me Naruto."**

She looked away and sniffled lightly. "Yes...Naruto. Will you continue to do what you tried to do before? To kill the ones who you think need to die?"

Naruto did not hide it. He was unwilling to lie to such a simple question. **"Yes, I will. As I said, I will not ask you to do the same. I will only ask that you understand my reasons."**

She nodded and looked back to him. "I...I understand. At least...a part of me understands. I don't know if I can kill another person, but..."

He stopped her and stood up. **"Don't, Koriand'r. Your understanding is all I ask. Please, do not cry anymore."**

And as if her were never there to begin with, he was gone. Starfire stayed on the floor of her shower, but instead of crying over what had happened, now she cried for the lives of Naruto's people, whom he had only wanted peace for.

 **-X-X-X-**

Naruto cared little for trying to contact Beast Boy. He felt as thought the young boy would do little in the realm of decent or interesting conversation, so he skipped him and appeared in his masters room to find her levitating in the air in meditation. The moment he appeared, however, she opened her eyes and leveled a powerful glare at him. "What sort of game are you playing, Deity of the End?"

The god looked surprised, but at the same time, slightly amused by her assumption. **"I'm playing no game, my master. I know your astral projection has been following me...listening to me. You think I've been lying to them. Manipulating them. Is that right?"**

Raven lowered herself to the ground and stood. "I know that's what you're doing. I've seen it before. Whatever you're trying to accomplish, don't forget, I contracted you and I am your master."

Naruto grinned and went to go sit at her small desk where a strange mirror sat. **"You have spells that can tell you whether or not I've been lying to them. You'll find that if you use them, that I've only told them the truth. Robin and Cyborg must learn that sometimes blood must be spilt for others to live in peace. Koriand'r already understands it, but had to learn my reasons. Beast Boy is a fool regardless and his understanding or beliefs are of little concern to me. You, my master, have a lesson all your own that you must learn."**

The dark sorceress crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "What lesson could I possibly learn from someone who treats life so callously?"

Picking up the mirror against her commands, Naruto kept his grin on his face. **"You must learn to accept how you truly feel about things. Remember, Raven, I know all. I know what it is that you wish to hide. You consider this hidden side of yourself to be some sort of demon. An evil that lives inside of you. It is a part of you just as you are a part of it. You cannot control me effectively until you accept it, Raven."**

"Is that why you can resist my commands?"

Naruto nodded and put the mirror back down. **"You are conflicted. Because of this, I can do as I wish if I disagree with this...outer you and simply listen to the you that you're trying to hide. I'll admit, she is buried pretty deep, but she's far from hidden from me."**

Raven looked confused and sat on her bed. "Why are you telling me this?"

Naruto kept his grin as he stood and paced around. **"I am going to be with you for a long time, Raven. It'd be a real shame if I didn't at least help you try to control me. Unfortunately for you, you can't accept it. You deny it like a plague of the mind. I have been around for quite some time, Raven. If there is one thing that I've learned, it's that people like you who take pride in their control, cannot accept that there is a part of them that they CANNOT control."**

She shook her head and lifted a book with her powers over to her and began to read. "That still doesn't answer my question. You're giving me the answer to controlling you. Why?"

He shrugged and turned his back to her. **"I'm just trying to be polite. Would you rather me continue doing what I want and causing your friends to resent you for summoning me in the first place?"**

She looked up from her book with a dangerous glare. "Are you trying to threaten me? Don't think you can manipulate me like you have attempted with the others."

Naruto shook his head with a small smile. **"As I've already said, I haven't manipulated any of them. With Robin, I simply asked him how many could've been saved if his little mentor had decided to kill his arch nemesis. With Cyborg, I only showed him that sometimes, in order to protect the ones that he loves, he must be willing to do whatever it takes. And young Starfire, she is one who is no stranger to what must be done. She simply needed to understand my reasoning. I do not manipulate, my dear master. I tell only the truth, because the truth is far more terrifying. So terrifying, in fact, that none of you are willing to accept it."**

"Why didn't you try to talk to Beast Boy?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and rubbed his head. **"Please, Garfield is a scatter-brained moron. He is nothing but a blind follower and has presented nothing of worth when I went into his mind."**

Raven had to resist laughing at the insult, as she agreed with him somewhat. "So you just want us to understand?"

He nodded and turned back to his master. **"That is all, my dear Raven. I want nothing more than to make this world like my own. With peace reigning over the land. If people like Trigon, the Joker and even this Lex Luthor character are allowed to live, peace will never be achieved."**

The sorceress simply looked away and closed her book. "There will always be darkness in the hearts of men and women, Deity. You cannot take that away."

Naruto approached her with his hands behind his back. **"I'm not asking that they release their negative emotions. I am asking that they accept them and resist their desires to harm others. To accept that you hate another, but refuse to hurt him, you demonstrate greater control than even the wisest sorcerer. Because once you accept that, you begin to understand that the man or woman you would harm has people who care about him, you truly become attuned to that person on a level that some could never hope to achieve. You understand that that person feels the same way about someone else, that they exhibit the same control that you do. You develop a respect for your fellow man. Through this acceptance, understanding and respect, true peace can be achieved."**

Raven hung on his every word. He spoke with the experience of a person who had seen it first hand. "You truly believe that the only way to peace is to kill those who harm others?"

 **"** **I do."**

She closed her eyes before looking to the floor. "So...with that in mind, what happens when you are the only one left to kill?"

This caused the blonde god to pause and look back at his master with a raised brow. He looked away and went to the door before fading from existence to disappear to somewhere else. As he reappeared on top of the Titan Tower, he stared out over Jump City, still stunned by her question. She had done the one thing he didn't expect of her.

She had truly left him speechless.

 **END:**

 **There it is! Next chapter! I hope that everyone enjoyed it!**

 **Elemental Shadow Out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**To be honest I'm not really waiting for a second to get this chapter started, so I'm just going to go on ahead and get it started!**

 **Start!**

 **The Man Who Would Be God**

 **Chapter Four:**

 **Welcoming Justice**

Night had once more fallen upon Jump City. The blonde Deity of the End sat in a somber silence as the words of his master rang sound in his mind, a never-ending assault upon his views of himself and the universe. **_'Ridiculous...I am hardly the one who should be under a microscope. Little Roth is going to have to learn sooner or later that I am not the one who should be feared in such a manner! These stupid little Titans...hm. I can't really say that. Koriand'r understands at least. Perhaps she would've been a person better suited to be my master. Oh well...that cannot be changed, unfortunately.'_**

For a moment, he sat in silence, until he was brought back to reality by a series of thumps sounding behind him. With a smirk, Naruto laid back and put his hands behind his head while closing his eyes in a lazy manner. **"How super! Nice to know that such fine, strapping young lads would come to welcome an elder like myself into this technicolor rainbow of a world! Have to say, though, it took you long enough."**

"We aren't here for small talk. We're here to take you into custody. You're coming with us whether you want to or not."

Naruto scoffed and disappeared, reappearing right in front of the man who spoke, the Caped Crusader himself. Batman. **"Careful, Mr. Wayne. I don't take threats lightly. I'd much prefer it if your, compatriots and I could just have a nice little talk. Not often, I would assume, you find a reason to bring out someone as, heh, talented as Oliver Queen."**

Behind the Dark Knight stood his four companions; Hawkgirl, the Green Lantern, the Flash and the Green Arrow, who looked rather pained by that little jab the deity threw at him. "C'mon, bud, no need to get so hostile right off the bat right?"Naruto shrugged and turned his back. **"I don't really think it's a hostile remark. You are talented, Mr. Queen. You just lack the power to take on someone of my capabilities. Don't forget..."**

He turned and stalked away before stopping and giving a sinister look over his shoulder with glowing red eyes.

 **"** **I am a God."**

Batman ignored his underlying threat and stepped forward holding out a pair of special handcuffs he had designed to restrain the likes of Ares. "You don't scare us, Deity of the End. We've fought plenty like you and have come out on top. You can make this easy on yourself and come with us."

It was at this point that the Green Lantern, John Stewart, took a step forward and gave the bat a look. "Deity of the End? Is that what you just said?"

Naruto raised a brow and turned back to face them, his curiosity and interest slightly piqued. "What does it matter, John?"

Stewart shook his head. "I'm not surprised you wouldn't know, Batman. If it weren't for the Guardians, all records of the Deity of the End would've been lost. If he truly is what you just said, we need to be very careful. Thousands upon thousands of gods were murdered by this monster."

Naruto chuckled and simply looked over the small group of five. **"I'm a monster, huh? What is it with all of you heroes thinking that I just acted on a whim and killed them all? How come no one ever wants my side of the story?"**

Batman glared at him and clicked his handcuffs open. "Because all people like you ever do is lie and kill to get what you want. We aren't going to allow you to get that far. Now. Come. With. Us."

The Deity of the End lost his grin and began to gather up magical energy to swirl around his form. He spoke in a voice of mock hurt that echoed with enough power to send ripples through the waters below the tower. **"Mr. Wayne...you're not threatening me...are you?"**

Stewart took a step back and his eyes narrowed in caution. "Bruce, don't do this. Just believe me right now. You can't win this fight..." The Caped Crusader had the courtesy to give a glance to the Lantern before lowering his handcuffs and closing his cape. "What would you suggest we do then, John?"

Naruto let the magic dissipate and his smirk slowly returned to his face. **"I say, we talk!"** He snapped his fingers and in less than a second, they appeared in the control center of the Watch Tower, making the members of its resident League all wary. Hawkgirl immediately raised her mace ready to strike. "Why did you bring us here?!"

The blonde deity smiled lightly and made a seat appear behind him before taking a load off and crossing his legs. **"Well, It would seem that I make you all uncomfortable. I figured that an environment you're familiar with would make things a little less...intimidating."**

Batman narrowed his gaze before taking a seat not far away at the control console while the rest stayed standing. Naruto then scratched his neck before speaking. **"Now, just to get something straight real quick, I'm not going to tell my story all over again. At this point you can talk to any of the Titans and get the same thing. Mr. Wayne I'm sure is going to be in touch with his little protege so whatever I say about my past is a moot point. So, with that said, besides all that, what would you like to know about little ol' me?"**

Bruce was quick to ask his first question as he pulled out a recording device. "What exactly are you capable of? Most of the Gods that we know of serve a purpose. What's yours?"

The blonde god shrugged lightly and steepled his hands. **"Well...to answer your first question, I can do anything you could possibly imagine and more. I can create and destroy anything this universe can comprehend. My power is as limitless as infinity itself. My purpose, however, is something more complicated. Before I was sealed away, I was given the name, The Deity of the End. Supposedly I was a herald of the end itself. But, I truly do beg to differ. The world I ruled over experienced a peace that was unseen in the universe before my arrival. So...in a way, perhaps I am a herald of the end. The end of war. The end of hate. I am the answer to the chaos that plagues this universe."**

John Stewart huffed and crossed his arms, leaning back against the console behind him. "I have a hard time believing that, to be honest. The Archives on Oa claim that you were responsible for a divine genocide. Someone capable of that, in my opinion, could hardly be considered an answer to chaos. You seem to sew it."

Naruto chuckled. **"You believe that gods are not without their flaws? Their own self-righteous beliefs?"**

The Flash decided that now it was his time to pipe in and moved to lean against the back of the blondes chair with an almost lack of any care whatsoever. "Nah! Look, we know that gods can be kinda...stupid, but is that any reason to go around and just kill them?"

The Deity narrowed his eyes and let a low, sinister growl escape his throat. **"Leave it to a self-righteous HERO to think that nothing could lead to the inevitable outcome of death. They destroyed...my...HOME!"**

The explosion of magic that resulted from his outburst had the gathered heroes up and ready to attack until they found themselves unable to move. Naruto turned and his glowing red eyes bore a hole into the Flash's own, making the Scarlet Speedster feel weak and terrified. **"The gods I killed...took away my home. They murdered my PEOPLE! When I came to this galaxy to find a new home, YOUR GODS IMPRISONED ME! They could not understand that the beings I killed brought about their own destruction. Pathetic, short-sighted fools! Just like you IMPOSSIBLE heroes!"**

Barry tried to speak, but could barely get out his apology as the force that held him in place barely let him breathe. "I...I'm...sorry! I...didn't know!"

Naruto sighed lightly and began to draw his power back in. **"No. You did not."**

As Batman and John were able to move once more, Bruce brought out his handcuffs and the Lantern had projected a thick barrier of green energy around the god, which made him chuckle once more, only this time it held a sinister ring to it. **"Your arrogance is truly astounding. I'm going to give you one chance, right now. Lower this barrier and put those stupid little toys away before you really make me angry."**

"And just what do you think you're going to do?"

The new voice caught all but two present off guard. Naruto smirked as he looked over to the newly arrived Man of Steel himself. **"Kal El! I was wondering when you would answer that little signal that Bruce sent out when I brought us here. I'm going to assume that you are the proverbial cavalry?"**

Clark crossed his arms and walked up to the green barrier, attempting to look as intimidating as possible. "I don't know who you are or why you're REALLY, but you're threatening my friends. I have half a mind to put you in Meta-Lockup right now and throw away the key."

The blonde god rolled his eyes and flicked the barrier, shattering it without a care in the world before glaring at his new aggressor. **"You really think you can beat me? I have to say, Clark, I am really getting tired of you heroes and your ridiculously arrogant selves. Fine, you know what, I'll make you a deal. Beat me, and I will submit to your ridiculous Justice League. If I win, though, your life will be mine to do with as I wish."**

Batman stepped forward to speak but was stopped and silenced by an unknown force. Naruto glared at him and wagged his finger back and forth. **"Don't interrupt the adults while they're talking, Bruce. I'll send you to your room if you do."**

Turning back to Superman, the Kryptonian couldn't help but be skeptical at the challenge. Ultimately, though, he nodded his head. "I accept. But don't expect me to hold back. You're too dangerous to leave to chance."

Naruto chuckled and held out his hand with the Man of Steel taking it with a slight flinch as the blondes magic bound him by his word to his very soul. **"Good! A man of your word until the end! Now, given how you are, I suppose that this vast expanse of space should be a good enough field on which to conduct our, heh, fight."**

Clark narrowed his eyes at the insinuation in his words before turning and walking away to an airlock nearby. Naruto simply disappeared, leaving the five members of the Justice League alone. Barry looked to the rest and immediately felt the pressure of the deal that was just made. "Hey, uh, Bats? You think Supes can beat him?"

Bruce stayed quiet as he looked out into space to the God who simply floated in the expansive vacuum that surrounded the Earth.

 **-X-X-X-**

Naruto huffed lightly as he watched Superman slowly take his place across from him. **"I have to say, Kal El, you do like to take your time. Having second thoughts? Ah what am I saying, what does it matter? The deal has been made and to back out now means your demise. Besides, I want a REAL fight!"**

Superman was not happy at the moment. It wasn't like him to blindly accept a deal with too many variables. Too many being any at all. It wasn't like him at all. "This isn't a game. I won't let you go free being as dangerous as you are."

The blonde chuckled and was quick to dodge a punch from the Kryptonian and blast him away with a simple flick to his forehead. **"Come now, Kal! You can do better than that! I want a FIGHT!"** Without another word, the god shot forward and slammed a fist coated in dark magic against the Man of Steels face, drawing blood and sending him careening through the dark void until he righted himself. "Fine...you want a fight?"

When Clark blasted towards the god, they collided with one another, fist to fist, a grimace of determination meeting a grin of satisfaction. **"Show me what you can do!"**

Superman reared back and slammed his forehead into the gods, sending him flipping back through space until he landed with his feet against a porthole on the command center of the Watch Tower. His smirk intensified as he kicked off and met the son of Krypton once more in a flurry of punches, each one sending quakes through the Khryptonians bones. He grimaced in pain as he received another devastating blow to his gut from the deity and was forced to back away. Naruto frowned at his disengagement.

 **"** **Don't tell me that you're already giving in! We've only been fighting for MAYBE a minute."** He then looked away for a moment and saw the moon, reflecting the light of the sun from the other side of the planet. With a small smirk, he looked back to the Kyrptonian. **"My blows are taking more power to defend than your body can absorb, aren't they? The solar power of this sun isn't sustaining you. Well...we'll have to fix that, won't we? It's been too long and I want a proper fight!"**

As his words left his mouth, he snapped his fingers and instantly, they disappeared and reappeared with a white dwarf sun behind the Superman. As solar rays from the young, hot star invaded his body, he fell the radiation begin to heal his internal wounds. Confused, he looked at the god who simply chuckled. **"You were a fool to challenge me, Kal El. You will lose this battle, no matter what. Even you should know, this is not a battle to see who will win. This is to see just how long you will last...and if your conviction is enough to stay my hand from annihilating your very soul. This star should provide more than enough power for you to give me a proper challenge."**

As the blonde spoke, Superman's body began to pulse with the power of the young star. His vision became sharper, his muscles stronger and his mind clearer. The energy soon pooled and began to flow freely from his body, giving him a powerful and hot white aura that radiated his growing strength. As he gathered his thoughts and began to slow his breathing, he looked back to the god with nothing but his determination present, which got an unnoticeable smile from the deity. "Then get ready, because now...there's no more time to fool around. I will show you my power and determination! The power of the Justice League!"

The god kept his smirk even as the son of Krypton smashed his fist into his face with so much force, the resulting shockwave echoed lightyears through space. Each hit became stronger, with each one shattering bones. First the gods jaw, then his ribs and then an arm. His last hit sent him careening into an asteroid that shattered into pieces. The blonde had lost his smirk, since his jaw was shattered, but he had not lost his spirit. How could he?

He was getting just what he wanted.

His bones reorganized their shattered pieces and were fixed in an instant as he righted himself and faced Superman with his smirk back in place. **"Good! Now...hit me for real! I know you have more than that to give!"**

Kal frowned and was upon him once more, but this time, his fists were caught and he felt a powerful kick plant itself firmly in his chest, dislocating his shoulders before Naruto disappeared and slammed an elbow into his spine, shattering it at the base of his neck. Had the Kyrptonian been under the yellow sun of earth, he would've been dead in an instant, but with the power of the white sun he now fought under, it began to mend almost instantly. With the pain numbed, he rounded and crashed his fist into the deities chest before blasting him away with a massive, continuous blast of heat from his eyes, rivaling the white dwarf in front of him.

The heat melting his flesh brought out a side in Naruto that he couldn't help but grin at, however short-lived it was when his face melted from the intense heat. **_'It seems this hero has the mind of a warrior! A dangerous enemy. One who cannot be allowed to live. He hopes to burn me to ashes here, it seems. If it were able to work, I would applaud him for doing what few seem capable of comprehending. Anyways...I have every intention of having some fun with this...'_**

As Superman let up his blindingly hot assault, all he saw remaining was a floating collection of ashes. His mind slightly at ease, he turned his back and sighed. "I wish it hadn't come to this." Disappearing in a burst of speed, he began his trek back to the Watch Tower to inform the other members of the Justice League.

After his departure, the ashes soon began to take form once more into the blonde Deity of the End. His smirk stayed firmly in place as he crossed his legs and began to spin in circles like a child. **"I'll give him a bit until I come back. Haha! I can't wait to see the looks on all of their faces! Short fight...but at least I got what I was looking for."**

As he spun in space, his face turned inquisitive. **"I am surprised, though. Someone considered to be a boy scout turning so quickly to resort to killing in order to stop a dangerous threat to his beliefs. The question remains, then...why do other enemies of their Justice League remain alive? A question I fully intend to ask."**

 **-X-X-X-**

Three hours had passed since the god had relocated their wager fight to the White Dwarf star and the five stayed gathered in the control room. The Flash, impatient as ever, was irritated with the long wait. "C'mon, Bats, isn't there ANY way to figure out where they are?"

The Caped Crusader looked irritated and glared at Barry, making him back away. "For the last time, Barry, NO! Wherever they are, they're far enough away to be outside of our tracking range. I can't...wait." Batman turned back to the console he sat at when a ping showed up on the tracker. "He's back on radar. Clark is moving at...immeasurable speeds. He's coming back, but is slowing down. He's draining himself of his solar power to come back so fast, I'm assuming. He will be here shortly."

 **"** **Yea, I'd say he'll be back in a minute or two. He's pretty fast, I'll give him that."**

Naruto appeared once more out of thin air sitting in a recliner, laying back. The other League members turned to see him looking calm and relaxed with his hands behind his head. Batman stood and walked over with a strange feeling of confusion. "If you're still alive, then why is Superman? Are you in our custody?"

The blonde had the courtesy to laugh and sat back up but kept his legs lifted. **"Good lord no! Not at all! Honestly, though, I'm a little surprised by Kal El. He resorted to trying to kill me almost right off the bat! Something I'm sure absolutely NONE of you are capable of doing. Then again, he can't ACTUALLY kill me either, but at least the guy tried. Gotta give him an A for effort on his part."**

Bruce frowned and sighed. "What are we going to do then?" Naruto shrugged and leaned back once more. **"Ask Kal. He's coming up right now."**

Sure enough, the Kryptonian son came through the door ready to tell the League that the Deity of the End had been taken care of, but was caught off guard when he saw the blonde god relaxing in an out of place chair. "How are you here?!"

Naruto chuckled and winked. **"Trade secret, Man of Steel. But, on the plus side, I'm not going to kill you!"**

Without knowing it, a feeling of dread that he did not know he carried lifted from his shoulders, but he did not show it. "Then...what are you going to do?"

He smirked and stood in one swift movement, appearing nearly instantly in front of Superman, garnering no reaction. **"Well, I'm not going to just let you guys off the hook, that's for sure. You and your little posse interrupted my "Me" time in Jump City. So, I want you to answer my next question. If you were so quick to try and kill me, why do so many of your enemies still live? Lives are lost almost daily because they live. Why do you let them live?"**

Batman was the one to speak up. "Because taking a life makes us no better than the villains we fight."

Naruto looked over his shoulder to the Dark Knight before turning fully a slowly strolling over. **"Do you hold yourself so highly that you are unwilling to sacrifice your code for the lives of the innocent? Is your self-image so important that they come second? If so, then you cannot call yourself a hero. You already are no better than the villains. If anything, you are a worse monster than they. At least, when a person sees someone like, say, the Joker, they know what to expect. But when they see you, all that goes through their heads is how long it will be before he is free once more. You don't even represent a FALSE hope as the Titans do. At least they deal with petty theft and small time crooks!"**

He was in his face now, a scowl present on his features. **"So, Bruce Wayne, don't think for one second that YOU are any better than someone like the Joker. You are just as responsible as he is. Come to think of it, perhaps...I should just rid this world of you and him at once."**

The god grabbed the Caped Crusader by the neck and lifted him into the air. As he did, everyone moved but were stopped once more by the powers of the deity before them. Batman kicked and tried ever trick he could, but Naruto wouldn't even flinch as he began to suck the very life out of him. **"You know...I've only been back for a few days now and I've only been able to get rid of one nuisance and that was that overbearing air-headed Skaath."**

His skin began to wrinkle and the Bat could only gasp for air as his strength left him. Until suddenly, he fell to the ground, gaining his strength back slowly and looking up trying to keep his composure. Naruto looked down upon him with mirth. **"Luckily for you, Mr. Wayne, I have no intention of becoming a symbol of hate and murder. Killing you would only prove what you people think of me. But, I will tell you this now. If you cannot bring yourself to completely stop these villains, then do not for one SECOND think that you are any better than they are."**

Turning to face the others, Naruto's glare held true. **"And the rest of you. My deal with the Son of Krypton holds true. He failed in defeating me. His life is now mine to do with as I wish. And...really just because I feel like it, so are yours. If any of you pursue me for any reason, I will kill you all. Slowly. Painfully. Now...I leave you all with my final declaration."**

His face turned dark as he snapped his fingers and an ornate throne appeared in the center of the room. He walked slowly up and sat facing the heroes. **"I am now in charge of the Justice League. As per my orders, you will not resume your activities as heroes on this planet any more. Not unless you are fully ready to end the villains lives for good. You will contact ME if you cannot do so yourself. If I find out ANYTHING is done without my knowledge, then that is also grounds for your immediate death. And do not think that I cannot find you. I know all."**

Standing from his throne almost as soon as he was seated, he took one last look at them all before completely disappearing, leaving them all to contemplate their next move.

 **-X-X-X-**

Naruto reappeared once more on the roof of the Titans Tower, but surprising to him, he was not alone. Turning to the door, he saw the young princess staring at him in her usual attire. **"Young Koriand'r, it's still hours from dawn. What are you doing up so late?"**

Closing the door behind her, she walked forward slowly with her hands behind her back. "Friend Robin awoke us when he was informed by the Batman that you were engaged in combat with Superman. Friend Raven tried to call you back to her, but it did not work."

He shook his head and sat crosslegged on the roof. **"She cannot accept herself. So ultimately, despite being contracted to her, I can refuse her orders."**

Nodding her understanding, she sat across from him with care. "Why are you fighting us? We are only trying to make the world a better place."

Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his head. **"I already told you why. To be honest, only you and Kal El seem to understand why some people must be killed."**

"But must they all be killed? Can we not give them a chance?"

 **"** **Unfortunately not. The villains of this world have proven time and time again that they either refuse or lack the capacity to change and it's because they have never fully faced the consequences of their actions. And the heroes lack the capacity to bring about their penalty. As such, I now control the Justice League."**

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Why?"

Naruto laid back with his hands behind his head and sighed. **"C'mon, Koriand'r. I already to you why. I will give you the benefit of the doubt, though. I can't really think of how you would respond to that to begin with. Anyways, I would like you to keep it between us. I don't want the others to know right now. It would only exacerbate their distrust of me."**

Starfire looked away to the sky before looking back confused. "But...why would you tell me?"

In an instant, he appeared mere inches from her face, making her jump and yelp. When she calmed herself, she found herself lost in his deep blue eyes, somehow enraptured by his voice. **"Because I trust you, Koriand'r. In a universe consumed by deceit and hatred, we all need someone to trust. Luckily for me, I have that trust in you. I can only hope that you extend the same trust to me. You know why I'm here, young princess. You know what I want. I want peace and you know what I must do to get it."**

She couldn't help but blush as he back away. And for some reason, she found herself longing for his closeness once more. "W-well...I..."

Naruto sighed and sat back once more. **"I suppose it's a little too much to ask for such trust so early on. After all, you've only known me for a short time."**

"No!"

He was surprised by her outburst and she clapped her hands over her mouth with a speak. Leaning back in sightly, she slowly removed her hands. "I...I do trust you. I saw your world. How your people were wronged. The pain in your eyes. I believe all you want is peace and...I...I want to help you. I really do."

Once more, the blonde god was surprised and speechless. **_'Help...me? She actually wants to help me? I...huh...'_** Naruto stood up and held out his hands with a small smile. Nervous, despite her declaration, Starfire took the offered appendage and rose to stand with him. **"Koriand'r...thank you. When peace came to my world, it was accepted, but no one ever helped me along the path. To have someone willing to help me achieve peace, I...truly don't know how to express my gratitude."**

Her blush came back full force as she pulled her hand away and turned her back. "J-just tell me how I can help!"

Naruto couldn't help his smile, a warmth brewing inside of him he was unfamiliar with. **"Trust me, young princess. You will know when you can help me. And in return, you can always count on me to help you. No matter what."**

Starfire felt dizzy as her blush began to burn hotter. Without even a word, she shot through the door and slammed it behind her. The god couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips as he looked up to the night sky with his smile still in place.

 **"** **Someone to help me...this is...nice..."**

 ** _END:_**

 **Yo! Sorry for the wait for this update. Also, proofreading the chapters for TDCBH isn't coming along as much as I would want. They're typed up, but its aggravating because I've written in two plot-holes that would've popped up in later chapters so I'm trying to find a way to fix them without giving up too much of the already written story. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this one! Look forward to the next!**

 **Elemental Shadow Out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm honestly having a blast writing this story. The concept of a god who cannot be beaten trying to attain peace, not through total dominion, but through systematic control is fun to write. He cannot be beaten and must control himself in order to further his goals. I love the thought.**

 **But to answer one question that was brought to my attention. Yes. He is an Anti-hero.**

 **Anyways, here we go!**

 **Start!**

 **The Man Who Would Be God**

 **Chapter Five**

 **His Unending Wrath**

Daylight once more shined down upon the city and the Deity of the End stood atop the Titans Tower watching over it with purpose. His eyes scanned every inch, prowling for anyone who dared to subject the innocent people to their crimes. Having been alone throughout the night after his new ally had left, he stood in silence. Until, of course, a voice caught his ear. One he wasn't all too pleased to hear. "What have you DONE?!"

He turned with a hateful glare and stared down the Boy Wonder. **"What ever could you possibly be talking about, Grayson?"**

Robin walked over and jabbed a finger into the gods chest, earning deeper glare if it were possible. "I got a message from Bruce in the middle of the night saying that you were fighting Superman! I asked him about it and then he told me to let it go for now! What did you DO?!"

Naruto chuckled and turned back around. **"The Man of Steel lives still, if that's what you want to know. They wanted me to come into their custody, but as Raven's charge, I cannot leave her. I fought Kal El in order to stay by her side."**

Robin walked around to his face and kept his glare deep in his eyes. "Don't give me that! Why are you really fighting the Justice League?!"

The god rolled his eyes and graced the Boy Wonder with a a lazy look. **"You really want to know, Grayson?"**

"I wouldn't have asked you. ANSWER ME!"

Naruto sneered and tapped him on the nose with each word. **"I. Was. Bored."**

Robin shook his head and backed away. "What were you thinking?! The Justice League is the top tier of superheroes! You can't just go picking fights because you are bored!"

The Deity of the End just laughed and swirled dark magic around his fingertips. **"Says who, exactly? You? Grayson, just because Raven told me to follow your orders doesn't ACTUALLY mean I'm going to, haha! I'll do it on occasion to humor you, but never...EVER...tell me what I can and can't do. Funny, I think I've already told you this."**

Dick huffed and went to go back inside but was met with Starfire coming through the door and surprising him. "Friend Robin, are you ok?"

He moved around her and began to go downstairs. "I'm fine."

Starfire turned back to face the god and walked forward slowly. "Friend Naruto, what happened?"

Naruto shrugged and turned around. **"He's just mad. The Batman sent him a message when I fought Superman about what I was doing and just NOW decided to confront me about it. Had all night. Kinda irritating because I was enjoying the sunrise."**

She took a spot beside him and peeked forward to look into his eyes and he turned his head to meet her gaze. **"Yes? Everything ok, Koriand'r?"**

The young princess quickly looked away and nodded her head. "Of course, friend Naruto! I was just wondering something."

 **"** **Well what is it? Anything you have to ask, I am more than willing to answer."**

She smiled lightly and blushed before looking back at him. "You are a god that can do anything. Why don't you just change the world the way you want it?"

Naruto turned fully and waved a hand out to Jump City to get her attention to what he wanted. **"Think about it, if I just decided to wave my will into existence, what would it truly be? A world of peace? Or a world of soulless puppets? Peace must be found in the hearts of acceptance, not through absolute control."**

Starfire smiled at the answer and looked out at Jump. "I suppose you're right. It wouldn't be the same."

The god smiled. **"No. It wouldn't. It would ju..."**

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he looked back to the city. One place in particular. A home. A man was crawling through the window with a black balaclava over his face. His teeth were bared as the alien girl backed away. "Friend, what's wrong?"

He looked back to her and his body began to fade away. **"I have business to attend to. Nothing too serious. A home invasion. Tell the other Titans. Have them meet me at the Police Station."**

Without a word, she only nodded and left as he disappeared completely, his goal set in mind as a brand new piece set itself on his board.

 **-X-X-X-**

It wasn't too strange to the god that someone would break into a home so early in the morning. No one was home. Probably at work or school. In order to minimize confrontation, it made the most sense to the Deity of the End. That did not, however, garner his mercy. He stood now, quietly waiting in the small, quaint kitchen. Waiting for his prey to emerge from the bedroom where he had crawled through the window. And lo and behold, he did.

 **"** **Awful early for a break-in, ain't it buddy?"**

The man clad in black jumped and froze, facing the god who had his arms crossed with a disapproving look on his face. "W-what're you doing here?"

Naruto uncrossed his arms and leaned back against a counter. **"I was just in the neighborhood, saw you were stopping by someplace it didn't look like you belonged and thought I might pop in and see what you were up to. So. What ARE you up to? You wouldn't be looking to take what isn't yours now...would you?"**

The man had the decency to take a step back. "I, uh...I..."

Naruto just laughed lightly as he stepped forward and slapped a strong hand on the mans shoulder, making him flinch. **"Look, buddy, I'm going to do you a solid right now. I looked inside you're head. Now I know this isn't the first time you've done something like this, so I'm a little bit...conflicted. You've stolen more than odds and ends. You've killed a man. Normally...I'd say that I would kill you right now and be done with it. But...you are going to serve a much greater purpose. Now..."**

He put another hand on his other shoulder, pulling his gaze deeper into his own. His eyes turned from their deep blue to a swirling silver. **"Sleep for eternity."**

The man soon fell into a deep sleep as Naruto began to disappear with the man.

 **-X-X-X-**

Naruto reappeared in front of the JCPD with the man slung over his shoulder. In front of him stood Starfire, Raven and Robin. Cyborg and Beast Boy were nowhere in sight. Robin walked up and gave him a confused look. "What are you trying to pull here?"

The god shook his head and lightly set the man on the ground in front of him. **"I'm not pulling anything, Grayson. This man was breaking into a home and I decided to stop him before he took anything. I brought him here."**

Raven floated over and examined the body. "He's not dead, Robin. He's just asleep."

Naruto nodded and crossed his arms. **"He will be asleep until the day he dies. Punishment for his past crimes."**

Robin glared once more at the blonde and turned around, throwing his hands up in the air. "What's the point then?! He's practically dead as it is!"

Starfire was the next one to speak as she tried to calm down the Boy Wonder with a hand on his shoulder. "Friend Robin, he did not kill him. Is this not better than killing him?"

The Boy Wonder sighed and turned to Naruto with a strangely sober look in his eyes. "Is there any way to wake him up?"

Naruto nodded and waved a hand, tearing a small portal in the air that showed the man in question running through a never-ending forest. The sounds that echoed behind him spoke of something chasing him and if the terrified look on his face was anything to go by, it wasn't pretty or friendly. **"He lives now in a state of constant fear. The pain and loss of his victims now hunt him with reckless abandon. To that end, when I find that he has sufficiently suffered for his crimes, I will release him from his torment. Could be weeks, months or years. Or perhaps he could never come to fully understand and he will never be free."**

As Raven looked through the tear, she felt something. A sense of pride. "He didn't kill him. It's a step in the right direction, Robin. For just let it go. They'll put him in the ICU and when he wakes up he'll go to trial. Let's leave it at that for now."

Robin, begrudgingly, picked up the criminal and took him inside to hand over to the police. Raven then looked to Naruto who closed the tear. "That was different. Someone like that, I would've thought you would kill him."

The god chuckled and scratched the back of his head. **"What can I say? I tried it your way for once. But it goes against everything that I stand for. He killed a man once breaking into another home. He's a thief and a murderer, but he has the decency to at least try and wait until no one is home. I believe that it was an accident, so I will give him a chance to try and atone for his sins, however impossible it may be in my eyes. Something like thievery grows from one of two things. Need or greed. For him it started from a need but he grew to enjoy it. A thrill. He got complacent. Did things wrong and it ended with a man losing his life. Regardless, a man doing wrong and it ends in death? I believe that he should be dead. Ultimately, I guess you could call this a sort of peace offering. Proof that I'm not just a mindless killer."**

The dark sorceress huffed and stared at the deity. "So that's what you're trying to do. Win our favor?"

He shrugged and turned his back. **"It's not about winning favor, my master. Well...ok maybe a little bit, but this serves a much greater purpose than you know."**

"What is it, friend?"

Naruto looked over his should to Starfire and smiled lightly. **"I'm announcing my presence to the people of Jump City. They will know now that I exist and I will protect them with all of my power. So long as I am vigilant, no more harm will befall this city. I will be swift. I will not show mercy where mercy is not welcome. This city will become the first step on the way to peace on this world!"**

Naruto's grandiose speech had caught the ears of passing citizens who stopped and listened to the god speaking. He turned to face the people and spread his arms, making Raven roll her eyes and Starfire smile. His voice echoed powerfully throughout the entire city, shaking windows and street signs. **"Fear no longer, citizens of Jump City! You will never again have to fear walking the streets! Hear my words now and trust in me! Any and all criminals who dare to encroach upon my city will feel the wrath of a god! I am the Deity of the End! The end of an era of hate! Of pain! For everything stolen, you shall lose something precious in kind! For each life taken, I shall take your own and resurrect you to match the pain you have bequeathed unto the innocent citizens of this city!"**

As he stopped speaking, he turned to face away from the mixed crowd of questioning and applauding citizens, a hope now burning in all their hearts from his declaration. He looked to Robin who had exited the Police station and had a scowl on his face. His smirk spread across his face, but he did not speak as the Boy Wonder walked past him. "Beast Boy and Cyborg are on their way to Metropolis right now in the Titan Jet. Beast Boy got a lead on someone he's been looking for. I...can't believe I'm asking you this right now, but Naruto, will you go and help them? Beast Boy was reluctant to let Cyborg go with him, but I have a bad feeling about what he's trying to do. We'd go with you, but right now we need to stay and keep watch over the city. With you having brought everyone back to life, we need to start patrolling as soon as we can and we've already taken one off day."

Naruto huffed and gave a lazy thumbs up. **"Don't let anything happen while I'm gone, Grayson. If you do, I won't forgive you. My master, I will return in due time. Koriand'r..."**

He looked over and met the princesses gaze, bring an almost unnoticeable blush to her cheeks. **"Stay safe."**

Without another word, he faded into nothingness.

 **-X-X-X-**

The Titan Jet flew over the plains at Mach One as Cyborg placed the jet in autopilot. "Hey, BB, you ok back there?"

Beast Boy shook himself out of his thoughts and nodded his head. "Of course I'm fine, dude! I'm just...thinking."

 **"** **Sounds painful. You sure you should be doing that, Green Bean?"**

Cyborg and Beast Boy both let loose a girlish scream as they both looked to the rear cockpit to see the Deity of the End sitting and wearing what looked like a WWII bombers jacket and a flight helmet complete with goggles. Beast Boy calmed himself first and was screaming through the headset. "What the heck, dude! Where did you come from?!" Naruto couldn't help but laugh as he shrugged his shoulders and put his hands behind his head. **"I'm everywhere, Green Bean. Robin asked me to tag along. Said you were looking for someone and thought that I could help. So, Garfield! Who're we hunting?"**

Beast Boy immediately sobered from him moment of fear and looked forward to the green fields and blue skies. "No one important to you. I just...need to find him."

 **"** **Steve Dayton?"**

The changelings eyes immediately narrowed as he turned back around to face the god. "How do you know that?" Naruto once more shrugged. **"Lucky guess?"**

Beast Boy growled and flopped back in his seat. "Stay out of my head, man. You shouldn't even be here. This is my mission."

Naruto held his hands up in defense despite neither of the two teen heroes looking at him. **"I'm not here to hijack it, Mean Green. I'm just here as support. Think of me as a sort of trump card for you to whip out and slap your enemies in the face with."**

The green-skinned teen couldn't help but laugh at the childish innuendo and looked back to him. "That's pretty funny!" The god chuckled and crossed his arms with a smirk. **"I aim to please. So, Garfield. Why are you looking for Mento? I prowled through your mind and found the name, but anything else pertaining to him is under a surprisingly good defense in your mind. Not that I couldn't break it or anything, I'd just rather hear it from you. It's a respect thing."**

Beast Boys face went dark and Cyborg looked back to the skies, knowing the subject was touchy for the green changeling. "He's...an old friend. He went the wrong way after things went south a while back with our old team."

Naruto nodded sagely. **"Something happened to make him leave you alone, I'm guessing."**

"Yea...you could say that. My...his wife was killed. He went looking for who did it but I never heard from him again. But I read in an article that he was sighted in Metropolis doing things that he would never do. I can't let someone using his name get away with whatever it is that they're doing."

The blonde god looked intrigued and voiced it. **"I honestly didn't think that you could intrigue me like this, Beast Boy. I sense a level of conviction in you that seems almost out of place. Almost. Just who is this man to you?"**

Beast Boy reclined his seat and looked up at the sky blazing past. "He adopted me. His wife, Rita...she was my mom. Them and the rest of the Doom Patrol helped raise me. They all helped me become who I am."

Naruto hummed. **_'He masks his pain. Hides it behind that of a ridiculous idiot. This masks extends deep into his head. So much so that even a skilled telepath would think him nothing more than a fool. Huh...fooled me, at least. But...why...why does that feel familiar?'_**

He could feel the pain now rolling off of the beast master. He was dredging up memories of a past he had buried when he thought he had lost everything. With the resurgence of Mento, it was a very thin line he now walked. **"Why do you blame yourself?"**

Beast Boy looked back to him in confusion. "What're you talking about?"

Naruto disappeared and reappeared outside his cockpit port, unaffected by the speeds they were moving at. Bending down to stare him right in the eyes, he narrowed them, not out of rage or irritation, but out of inquisition. **"You hold a great burden on your shoulders, young Garfield. A burden that one as young as you shouldn't have to. Your defenses are lowered from your emotions running rampant and I sense a great many things tearing you up inside. I will stay away from Dayton for now. Losing family...it is something no one should ever have to do. So I wish to know something else."**

Garfield rolled over in his seat like a bed and closed his eyes. "Whatever...just...don't talk about Steve."

Sitting down on the wing of the jet, Naruto placed his chin in his hand and his elbow on his knee. **"Tell me about the Beast."**

His eyes snapped open and he was up agains the glass separating the two of them. "I said stay out of my head!" Naruto's brow raised in partial surprise and amusement. **"Man...everything is just a touchy subject with you isn't it? I didn't go into your head to figure out that this Beast exists. Memories and experiences with this creature can be found in the heads of every member of the Titans. I only wish to understand it, so that perhaps...I may help you."**

Beast Boy looked at him in confusion and Naruto began to elaborate. **"This beast that lives inside of you has been with you for as long as you've had your powers. It is the very essence of your primal instincts and rage. You fear that you cannot control it. And as you are, you can't."**

He looked away, back to the console in front of him, indicating that they were still almost two hours away from their destination. "Since you're this...god...I'm guessing you can help me?"

Naruto shook his head. **"What you're truly asking is if I can give you the strength to control it. I cannot. I can only do what I have done for my own people. Make you understand. Your power is far greater than you allow it to be. You can control the very essence of your being beyond what people dream is even possible. Yet this Beast...you fear it. You fear a part of yourself that you believe you can't control. I do not believe that to be true. There is no part of ourselves we cannot control. You have pushed this Beast so far away that it fights for power. You must prove to it that you are in control. That you are in control of your own power. Your own rage. I cannot grant you the strength to do this. But I can grant you the opportunity to prove yourself."**

The changeling looked to the god with a curious gaze, to which the blonde gave his own sagely look before waving his hand lightly, making the green teen become dizzy. **"Now...Garfield. Sleep for eternity. Face your demon."**

 **-X-X-X-**

Garfield's eyes soon opened to a bleak, grey scape that extended on into infinity through fog. He slowly rose to his feet, his vision still hazy as he tried to focus on something around him. **_"So my useless little vessel decides to visit me, does he?"_**

Beast Boy quickly turned to where he heard the voice, but only saw a dark silhouette outlined in the fog. His vision returning slowly, he watched as the hazy figure grew larger with each passing second until it towered over him. A black beast with vicious fangs and cold, dead eyes. Claws sharp enough to rend steel to ribbons extended from its hands and a mane of even darker fur trailing down its spine. He couldn't help but take a step back from the towering beast. "I'm here to...to take control. This is my body! You are a part of me!"

The Beast laughed, though it sounded more like nails over a chalkboard that made Garfield flinch. **_"A part of you, yes. But this is not your body. Not anymore. Once I get rid of this consciousness of yours, I will be free. Our body will become my body!"_**

With a swift and powerful motion, the Beast backhanded Beast Boy and sent him rolling over the featureless expanse. Righting himself and flipping, he quickly transformed into a cheetah before running full speed towards the Beast with the aforementioned running towards him as well. Jumping mid-stride, he transformed once more into a tiger, biting down onto the Beasts shoulder and tearing his claws into its chest and back, getting a howl of pain before he was thrown off. Transforming back into his human form, Garfield landed clawing at the ground to slow his movement. Before he knew it, though, the Beast was upon him. **_"Don't get cocky, boy!"_**

He slammed his fist down and made the teens form crash into the dirt, cratering the area around them. The assault was unrelenting as he smashed fist after meaty fist down onto the changeling. Feeling something boiling deep inside him, Garfield rolling quickly out from under the next fist and began to transform. Growing fast, he became the same as the beast, only green. His eyes held a fury that he could barely contain as he caught the next fist that came for his face and biting down on its forearm. Using his entire body, he flipped and sent the Beast into the air before jumping after it and latching on, biting, kicking and clawing to do whatever damage he could.

Before he could do anything else, the Beast head butted Beast Boy and sent him back to the ground, landing on him and bellowing out a deep roar. **_"You think just because you can turn into something LIKE me, that you can control me?! Don't make em laugh!"_**

He clawed his hand down the changelings face but was stopped short when Beast Boy grabbed his face and forced him off of him with an unexplainably powerful push. Standing in a tired hunch, the transformed Garfield found his voice in a dark and gravely tone. **_"I...am in...control! You aren't different from me! We're the same!"_**

The Beast roared and began its charge, but Beast Boy stood strong, straightening his back and relaxing himself, transforming back into his human form, a slightly somber look in his eyes. "I have to be stupid for trying this..."

In a leap of faith he held out his arms, ready to accept the Beast. The deafening thuds of the Beasts footsteps grew louder as it got closer, Garfield closed his eyes and waited...and then it came.

A cataclysmic fist connected directly to his jaw and he was sent sprawling over the ground. The Beast chuckled and walked over, picking up the broken Garfield by the hair as the young changeling struggled to no avail. "Why won't you accept me!"

The Beast lost it's sneer and brought it snout right up to his face. **_"Because. You. Are. Weak. You came here on the whim of that...creature. You never once thought about facing me alone. And now...you pay the price."_**

Rearing back with Garfield in hand, he slammed the green changeling back into the ground and began to pound him deeper into the earth once more. Beast Boy soon went numb front the relentless assault, his body becoming nothing but a tingle in the air around him. His vision blurred and the impacts sounding over the grey landscape become nothing but dull thuds in his ears. Soon, his eyesight was lost and his consciousness was gone, darkness taking hold.

 **"** **Gotta say...I was actually expecting more."**

Garfield eyes opened to a darkness that he could see, but at the same time couldn't. There was no ground beneath his feet, yet he stood all the same. Around him, he heard the voice of the deity Naruto echoing across the abyssal landscape. "Huh? What? Where are you?"

Naruto appeared before him with his original shirtless self from when he had first appeared after being summoned by the Dark Titan. **"I can't quite say exactly why, but I was honestly expecting you to be able to do it. But, it would seem that I was wrong. Continuing the trend of being honest here, I don't like being wrong. You have some explaining to do. Where is your conviction? Do you not want to control this Beast?"**

Beast Boy looked away, remembering the words of the Beast all too clearly. "I'm just not strong enough to do it...get me out of here."

 **"** **No."**

Looking back to the god, he found him barely a foot away and towering over him. **"You wanted this. I've done everything I can already do to give you the chance you needed in order to conquer this. Now...Garfield Logan. Do you want to control the Beast, or not?"**

In the green teens eyes, Naruto saw a small fire ignite as he straightened his back. "I really do!"

Naruto smirked and snapped his fingers, the black abyss fading away as the world shifted back to the grey landscape. Not far away, the Beast stood frozen, its features contorted into rage. Pointing to the intimidating creature, the god said something so simple, but its implications held a gravity that weighed down upon the changeling, stopping him in his tracks as he passed the deity.

 **"** **Kill it."**

Garfield turned back to Naruto with wide eyes. "What? But you told me to control him!"

The Deity of the End put his hands back behind him and spoke in a matter-of-factly manner. **"The Beast will not accept you, even if you can accept it. If you cannot control it, then the fear that it will get loose and hurt those you care about will always loom in the back of your mind. To that end, you must being willing to put it down. Besides...is killing something not the same as controlling it? You control the very essence of life when you strip a being of its mortal coil."**

Images of Raven, Robin, Cyborg and Starfire began to appear in the air around the changeling, making him look to the ground. "I don't know if I can..."

Naruto shrugged and patted the green teen on the back. **"Is it the lack of capacity? Or the lack of will? Well...everything in this universe has the capacity to kill. It takes a true hero to do it for only the right reasons. To do it and not lose his or her self takes only the highest of understanding in WHY they do it. So it must be the lack of will."**

Beast Boy rounded on the god with pain and rage in his face. "I CAN'T KILL HIM!"

The god scowled and roughly grabbed his shoulder, leading him over to the Beast before throwing him to the ground in front of the monstrous creature. **"Look! Look at him! He won't waste a second tearing you and EVERYTHING you love apart! Where is your will to protect them?! Will you simply lock him away again?! Waiting until the day comes when all of your strength is gone and then taking over, rampaging until someone like ME has to kill him!"**

Garfield had the decency to look away in shame as he spoke. "That scares me...more than you could ever know. If I lose control of this Beast then everyone could get hurt..."

Naruto picked him back up and forcibly transformed the changeling into his Beast form. **"Then do what you know must be done. It is a ravenous monster hellbent on chaos. In order to keep him from being free, you must kill it."**

"Wouldn't that be killing a part of me, though?"

He nodded and looked solemnly at the Beast, a sense of something that he wasn't sure of. Perhaps it was...empathy. Shaking his mind of such thoughts, he spoke in a low tone. **"Sometimes...in order to do what must be done...a part of us must die..."**

Beast Boy looked at the deity and was surprised to see a strange gleam in his eye. It wasn't insanity, nor was it rage. It was something he couldn't make out. **_"Is that what you did? When they blew up your world?"_**

Naruto looked to the teen and gathered himself, composed once more. **"They didn't blow it up. They razed it to nothingness. A reminder of my crimes against their pantheon. But yes. I already had a strict sense of justice before then. But when they destroyed my people, I ended up with something worse. To harm even a single soul is an affront to the universe. When they banded together to destroy my world, I took it upon myself to destroy everyone responsible. That entire galaxy was corrupt to its very core. And the rest...its history."**

Garfield looked back to the Beast and reached for its neck. **_"This part of me...it's a monster. I...I...it needs to go..."_**

Naruto watched as the transformed Beast Boy slowly began to crush the creatures larynx. As the pressure built up, Beast Boy closed his eyes and turned his head, a loud roar escaping his fanged mouth. Naruto assumed this was an attempt to block out the sickening crunch of bone as he crushed the Beasts neck. The creature soon fell to the ground, its eyes dead and its chest unmoving as Beast Boy reverted back. The blonde god watched him collapse and began to breathe heavily, a pain in his head. **"Garfield Logan...stand up. Don't let this cloud your mind. This was not murder, this was a preemptive strike to stop something from happening before it even could."**

If he heard him, the changeling gave no indiction as he began to hyperventilate. Naruto sighed and lifted him up to his feet, though he did not stop breathing as he did. **"Garfield! Get a grip! You know that this had to be done!"**

Beast Boy soon began crying as his vision blurred once more. But before he could pass out, he was backhanded and began to roll once more over the grey dirt. Looking up to his aggressor, the god had his eyes narrowed. **"Don't let this build up, Garfield. Let it become one with you. This was an act of justice. That Beast would've killed everything you hold dear and more. Now stand!"**

The green teen slowly stood, sniffling and still trying to catch his breath. "I...I killed him..." Naruto nodded and walked forward. **"You did. Know, though, that this was only in your mind. The consciousness of the Beast is dead, and with it, its control over you and your emotions. Use this power to become greater than you ever were! This creature holds no sway anymore. And you, young Garfield, have taken the first step. A step that only two others I have met show the capacity for."**

Beast Boy had calmed down slightly, but was still in relative shock. Despite it being in his head, he had felt the bones snapping under his grip. He felt the life leave the Beast. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto turned his back and waved his hand, the landscape fading away as Beast Boy soon began to feel himself wake up.

 **"** **The first step to becoming a TRUE hero."**

 ** _END:_**

 **Next chapter up and ready! Hope you all enjoyed! Decided that I needed some one on one time with the little changeling. Hope it was as good for you as it was for me! Until next time!**

 **Elemental Shadow Out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I can't help myself! I have this itty bitty arc to do with BB now so I'm going to do what I can while I'm at work. Here we go!**

 **Start!**

 **The Man Who Would Be God**

 **Chapter Six**

 **Ghost**

The Titans Jet had landed two hours earlier outside of Metropolis, having no actual landing pad within the city. Beast Boy had awoken just before landing and was still shaken by the events that had taken place within his head. Despite this, though, and to his credit, he resisted and pushed it to the back of his mind, trying to focus on his mission. Naruto stood not far away, observing the green teen with a calculating eye. **_'I wonder if he's going to be ok. Besides Kal El, he actually killed something, despite it being figurative in scope. He might not've been ready...'_**

Moving through the streets of Metropolis, Cyborg and Naruto were following the changeling as he moved down an alleyway with purpose. Coming to a seemingly pointless wall, Beast Boy pressed in a brick and soon, a door began to open up, revealing a hallway that looked to rival the technology in the Titans Tower or the Justice Leagues Watchtower. The look on the teens face, though, showed a barrage of memories coming to mind. The decent into the hallway was quiet as Naruto could help but notice something. **"This is one of the bases that the Doom Patrol used, isn't it?"**

Beast Boy gave a silent nod as they soon came to a branch, but this didn't deter him. He turned unflinching and they followed unquestioningly. "This place wasn't used for a long time even before we went our separate ways." This gave Naruto slight pause. **"If that's the case, then why isn't there any dust? The place looks surprisingly clean?"**

"That's one of the reasons I wanted to come here. When I read the article talking about...him...I used the Titan Computer to get into our list of hideouts. This one was listed first and had been opened up a few times. Recently."

Not long after turning down the corridor, they came to a control center that was up and running, making the changeling narrow his eyes as he walked up to the main console. "This isn't right...after Steve went missing we all thought he was dead. If he came back, he would've called us! Someone has to be using his name. It just doesn't make sense!"

Naruto nodded and turned away, looking at a collection of pictures on the wall, portraying what he believed to be the original Doom Patrol. **_'A ragtag type family, it seems. This Steve and Rita adopted him into this family, only for him to lose them so soon...and he's still so young. Suffering a loss like this...'_**

His thoughts were cut short when he heard the changeling uncharacteristically curse and slam his fist into the console, garnering the attention of the other two occupants. "Hey, BB, what's up? Something wrong?"

Beast Boy sighed and flopped down into the chair behind him, cradling his face in his hands. "The hideout was reactivated using a bio-scan. That scan came from the man we're here for. Steve. I guess...these rumors are true..."

Naruto walked up and looked at the information on the screen. **"What exactly are the rumors, Garfield?"** The pained teen peeked through his hands and spoke in a muffled voice. "The articles and forums attached claimed that someone calling himself Mento had turned to crime. Apparently he's been robbing banks and taking shots at low time heroes and vigilantes. A few of them even say he's been killing a few of them..."

The god looked warily at the teen while actually questioning himself. **_'This isn't good. He's already conflicted with what he did to the Beast. With his adopted father having gone turncoat, he may do something he's going to regret.'_**

Placing a hand on his shoulder, he got the attention of the young hero and surprised him with a genuinely comforting look. He then said something that surprised even himself. **"Stay strong, Garfield. If it's true, and Drayton has gone astray, perhaps...there may be a way to bring him back. He was a hero before this. That means that there may be a way to bring him back."**

Shaking his head, Garfield turned back to the console and placed a light hand over the keys, rubbing them affectionately. "I...I really don't know. He changed after Rita died. Distanced from the rest of us. After he left, no one stayed. If he's back and he's doing something like this...I don't know what to think."

Naruto backed away and narrowed his eyes before turning and walking back to the pictures. Picking up one that had the changeling with Drayton and Rita, he walked back over and tossed it into Beast Boys lap. **"I'm not saying that he will go unpunished, Garfield. But look. That picture doesn't show a heartless killer. It shows a man. A husband. A father. I don't believe for one second that a man like that just disappears. He will face judgement, but I believe that under the right circumstances, he can have a final atonement."**

Beast Boy looked confused slightly as he ran a somber thumb over the face of his parents. "Why are you being so nice?"

 **"** **What do you mean?"**

The changeling stood and put the picture down while giving the god a skeptical look. "You were talking about how anyone who kills someone needs to die. Why give him a chance?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. **"Are you complaining about me being merciful?"**

Garfield narrowed his eyes and threw his hands up in frustration. "This ENTIRE time you've been talking about how people need to die! You killed Jinx and got ready to kill the rest of them! Why are you saying that HE can live?!"

The god looked away to the picture and picked it up. **"I understand that I haven't exactly been too terribly forthcoming with you, Garfield. To be honest, I'm not quite sure whether or not it'll make any sort of difference."**

Beast Boy shook his head and turned back to the console, beginning to type. "I don't want to hear it...let's just find him and get this over with. We all know how this is going to end, anyway."

Naruto looked intrigued. He backed away as he saw Cyborg with a look of worry on his face. **_'Has he broken? Losing his family, killing a part of himself and then finding out that his father has become a killer. Has he fully gone over? The confrontation will be a sight to see, for sure.'_**

"I found him."

He looked back to the screen and saw Beast Boy with a slightly mad look in his eyes. **"That was pretty quick for someone touted as an idiot."**

Garfield gave a little chuckle and scratched the back of his head. "Yea, well, I know the Doom Patrol systems like the back of my hand. Every member has their bio-signatures in the database. Any one of us can be tracked from all over the globe. In case...something like this happened."

Naruto nodded and looked to the pinpointed location and it seemed to be a bank of some sorts. **"These villains really love robbing banks don't they? Kinda strange, that's a lot of publicity surrounding them. Then again, with the heroes not putting them down from the beginning, problems like this come too terribly often. Anyway's, let's get going!"**

"Wait, do-"

 **-X-X-X-**

"-n't!"

The three instantly appeared in front of Mento, who now stood stunned and confused by the appearance of the cyborg, god and changeling. "What?"

Naruto looked to the black and red clad villain and shrugged his shoulders. **"You really aren't much to look at, Drayton. I expected more."**

Garfield immediately slapped Naruto on the back in agitation. "Dude! What the heck! We could've caught him by surprise!" The god rolled his eyes and whisked away with the civilians, sending them to a safe, public place. **"Alright...I'm really seeing a trend here. Hostages, banks, costumes. You villains really need to step up you game. Make it interesting. Because honestly, if this is going to be the norm, just popping in and beating you down, I'm going to get bored really fast."**

Mento still had a very confused look on his face, not knowing how to respond to what he was seeing. His adopted son, a cyborg and some arrogant blonde just appeared out of nowhere, the civilians disappeared and now the blonde was criticizing him. "Um...uh..."

Naruto flicked the villain on the forehead and then pointed at Beast Boy with irritation evident in his gaze. **"You've got some explaining to do, Drayton."**

Garfield walked forward, taking advantage of his stunned form and transformed into a gorilla before backhanding him into a wall, then transformed back, very angry. Naruto pulled him back to face him quickly. **"What are you doing?!"**

He shoved his grip away and pointed to Steve's downed form. "What am I doing?! Why are you stopping me?! Isn't this what you would've done if you didn't know who he was?! What's changing it?! Sympathy?!"

Naruto's eyes actually widened as he took a small step back, not out of fear, but surprise. **_'No...this isn't right. Not like this, Garfield. I won't allow it.'_**

 **"** **Compose yourself, Garfield Logan! Who is this man to you?!"**

Beast Boy threw his hands up and got even angrier. "What is your problem! Kill! Don't kill! Make up your mind! You want us to act quick! Show now mercy, right?! Well you're getting what you want!" Cyborg walked up and tried to calm him down. "Yo, Beasty. You need to chill out and take a step back."

"You stay out of this, Cyborg! You shouldn't even be here! Neither of you should!"

Naruto quickly froze the changeling and got in his face. **"Now you listen here, Garfield. You aren't thinking straight. If you were you would realize that what you're getting ready to do would destroy you from the inside out."**

Beast Boy glared at the god defiantly. "You really want to say that?! What did you make me do?! I killed the Beast! You wanted me to do it! You wanted me to do THIS!"

The Deity of the End took a step back and glowered down at the shape-shifter. **"You really think it will be that easy, do you? Killing someone that close to you? Fine, then..."** He stepped out of the way. **"Go right on ahead."**

He unfroze the green teen and watched as Mento stood shakily to his feet. "Garfield...what...what are you doing here?"

Beast Boy glared at him as he transformed into the Beast. **_"I should be asking you that, Steve. But we both know that this is only going to end one way."_**

Bracing himself against a psionic blast, Beast Boy stalked forward and backhanded the mental-empowered villain once more, slamming him against the wall. "Garfield...this...isn't what...you think..."

Anger brimming in his eyes, the changeling placed his hand over his face and picked him up into the air, unaware of Cyborg readying his sonic cannon with Naruto merely watching on. "Beast Boy! Stop! Don't listen to him! Don't do this! This isn't you!"

He didn't listen as he glared deep into Drayton's eyes through his clawed fingers. **_"When Rita died...we needed you...and you LEFT!"_**

Rearing back, he slammed him into the tiled floor. **_"You left US!"_**

Another resounding slam. **_"We NEEDED you!"_**

Steve didn't fight back as he was slammed back into the ground for the last time and Beast Boy let go, but not by choice. Cyborg fired a sustaining shot into Garfield's back and he turned on the teen with pain evident in his gaze. Wasting no words, he pounced on him and threw him into another wall at the other end of the bank. It was at this point that Naruto stepped in front of him and looked the Beast in his eyes. **"Do you enjoy this Garfield? Hurting the ones you love?"**

Beast Boy held his unwavering glare and looked to see Cyborg struggling to stand. He flinched as his gaze wavered slightly before he shook his head. **_"Shut up!"_** Without thinking, he went to attack the god, but Naruto sharpened his gaze and he froze, not from his power, though. Though pure instinct.

 **"** **I know now that making you do what I did...it was a mistake. But it is time for you to stop this, Garfield. Stone is not your enemy and Drayton is your father. This is NOT right! Now you will calm yourself or I will be forced to act in a way that will garner even more ill will from the rest of the Titans. To kill in rage and pain is not justice. It is revenge. It is truly murder. And you, Garfield, are no murderer."**

The Beast soon began to shift as the form of Beast Boy returned and he collapse to his knees, ready to hyperventilate as he had done when he killed the Beast. Naruto simply looked at him and walked back to Cyborg, waving his hand and fixing the sparking teen. **"Give him a moment. He has a lot on his mind that he needs to process. For the time being, we are going to take Drayton back to the Tower and lock him up until Garfield can face him properly. I will strip him of his powers and you will throw him wherever it is you normally keep your villains."**

Cyborg didn't speak as he walked by him and went to pick up the unconscious Steve. Naruto then walked up to Beast Boy and put a hand on his shoulder. **"Worry not, Garfield. Time will heal your wounds."**

Without another word, they disappeared from Metropolis.

 **-X-X-X-**

Naruto appeared in the main room of the Titans Tower, having sent Beast Boy to his room and Cyborg and Drayton to his garage, knowing he'd know where to take the now powerless villain. With a sigh, he made his way over to the couch and plopped down with a lazy look in his eyes. **"I made a mistake with him. I thought that perhaps killing the Beast would make him stronger. Instead it's fractured him deeper than I initially thought. A forced evolution in a subject that simply wasn't ready."**

"What are you talking about?"

The god didn't look back as he sighed once more. **"It's really nothing, Grayson. The problem will sort itself out in time. Nothing to get your panties in a bunch over."**

Robin walked around the semi-circle couch and was surprised to see the god looking tired. With a little smirk, he spoke. "Did something happen that you couldn't handle?"

Naruto leveled a powerful glare at the Boy Wonder that made him flinch unnoticeably. **"There is nothing in this universe that I cannot handle, Grayson. Do well to remember that. I simply miscalculated something and the outcome was not what I expected nor wanted."**

Robin sat down at the other end and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You are frustrating, you know that? I need to know what happened. Anything that happens with any member of my team I need to know so I can be prepared for anything."

The deity rose a brow and smirked. **"So you can prepare a contingency in case they go rouge, I'm assuming. You truly are like the Bat. More than is really necessary."**

Naruto could imagine the cold glare that the Boy Wonder had sent his way. "It's not like that. You don't know what kind of stress Beast Boy is under and if something happened on this mission then I need to know."

 **"** **I don't know? I must be unaware about the death of Rita, his mother, then. I must also not know about the subsequent disbanding of his former team. Or about the relative verbal abuse that he suffers at the hands of his own team members? Wait! You must talking about the incident with the Beast? When you were ready to imprison him because you THOUGHT he was a threat before getting proper information? Oh yes, Boy Wonder, I have no idea the amount of stress that the little changeling suffers."**

"The Beast was a threat! Until we found out that Adonis was the one-"

Naruto send a sharp glare that made Robin stop in the middle of his sentence. **"Don't forget that you lot are supposed to be Garfield's friends. His confidants. You treat him as one would treat an idiot or a punching bag. He has to fear persecution from his own team members! But you should be happy. Beast Boy, through all of his pain, has come closer to becoming a true hero."**

Robin narrowed his eyes and stood up, trying to intimidate him but to no avail. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto simply smirked and leaned back, closing his eyes. **"Garfield, for the time being, must mend his scarred mind. But once he has healed and is in his right mind, he will truly be capable of dispensing true justice."**

"What. Did. You. Do."

All he got was a laugh as Naruto stood and patted Robin on the head. **"Wouldn't you like to know."**

Before he could say anything, the god disappeared from sight, leaving the Boy Wonder fuming as he flopped down onto the couch. "Gah!"

 **-X-X-X-**

 **"** **Mother FUCKER!"**

Starfire jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance of Naruto in her room. When she had returned to the Tower after patrolling Jump City, she went straight to her room to rest. "Friend Naruto! What are you doing in here?"

Naruto looked incredibly irritated as he sat down in the chair at her vanity. **"I needed someone to talk to. Beast Boy is currently going through some soul searching and I can't talk to Raven. Not about this. At this point, you're really my only friend here."**

The princess sat up and pulled one of her many stuffed animals into her lap. "What is the matter?"

Naruto huffed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. **"Well for starters, I fucked up. I tried to help Garfield with a problem, but it only made things worse in the end and I'm not sure how long it's going to take for him to fix himself. Basically, I helped him control the Beast, but in doing so, I think I may have fractured his mind."**

Starfire looked a little nervous at the mention of the Beast, but she didn't voice any major concerns about it. "Is Beast Boy ok?"

Naruto shook his head and looked at her, the ethereal glow that normally permeated his gaze dimmed slightly. **"He isn't, Koriand'r. I forced him to kill the Beast and then he almost killed his adopted father after the fact. I made a mistake. Something I'm not particularly fond of doing."**

Kori looked saddened and let her gaze fall away to the stuffed bunny in her care. "I...do not know what to say."

The god sighed and stood, getting ready to leave. **"I didn't really expect you to know what to say. Really I just wanted to get this off my chest. I'm sorry for startling you, Koriand'r."**

"No!"

Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw her reaching out to him with a blush overpowering her features. Under his gaze, she quickly pulled back and looked away. **"You've done this before, young Koriand'r. Is there something wrong?"**

She shook her head and looked back to the god. "I...do not think so. I just do not think you should be alone if you are like this."

The Deity of the End turned back around and went to sit on her bed, looking away from her. **"To be alone, dwelling on ones mistakes is the path to self destruction I suppose. I don't make mistakes...not normally. It shouldn't be this way."**

Starfire reached out to touch his shoulder and got no reaction except her own heated face. "Do not see this as a mistake, friend. Should we not use things like this to learn?"

Naruto nodded and laid back, with his hands behind his head as he looked into her green orbs. **"You are indeed correct. Perhaps this may be my own arrogance speaking, but it's hard for someone who makes no mistakes to learn from the one he has made."**

She gave a small smile and rocked back and forth. "That cannot be true, friend. Everyone makes mistakes. If we do not make them, then how can we become better than we were?"

He looked away and closed his eyes. **"I suppose that I will have to think about this. For now, though...I would like to rest. And your bed is rather comfortable. If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep here for a moment."**

The blush that rose to her cheeks went, luckily for her, unseen by the god. "U-uh...of course not. I will let you sleep, friend!" She quickly got up and got ready to leave until his voice stopped her. **"It's your room, Koriand'r. You don't have to leave. I'm only sleeping."**

She gave a nervous laugh as the door opened and she walked out with only her head showing. "I have something that I must take care of! Rest well, friend Naruto!"

Naruto shrugged as the door closed and he soon let darkness take hold, his mind now adrift within itself.

 **-X-X-X-**

 _ **"** **Is one galaxy not enough to satiate your desire for destruction and chaos? Now you seek to destroy us as well?"**_

 _Naruto glared at the entity before him, a shapeless vapor that shifted and wavered under even his gaze. **"You claim to be the creator of this universe. A name I have heard time and time again from the fallen gods and goddesses who dared to encroach upon what was mine. The Presence. A god like yourself should know that I did not start that war. I merely finished it. I seek only a world to bring peace upon once more. I do not want this war to begin anew. Please...I do not wish to kill anymore of you. Peace can be realized."**_

 _ **"** **For nine millennia you have wrought chaos and discord upon this universe and I cannot allow you to spread your corrupted** **peace** **any further."**_

 _ **'** **Timeless Being, Betwixt Illusions and Realities...'**_

 _Naruto looked around, searching for the voice before turning upon the Presence in rage. **"What was that?!"**_

 _ **'** **Protect My Body, Destroy My Enemies...'**_

 _He tried to for the Presence to disappear, to die and collapse in on itself, but a strange power stayed his own. His rage only grew further. **"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!"**_

 _ **'** **With This Deal, My Soul You Shall Rend...'**_

 _ **"** **This is what must be done in order for this universe to be free of your chaos. Now heed the call...begone from my sight."**_

 _ **'** **Heed My Call, Deity of the End.'**_

 _Naruto could only scream in rage as he disappeared and reappeared in a red room in front of two people. One, the familiar face of Skaath and beside the malevolent red demon lord stood a simple human. **"So...the great Deity of the End now stands before me as powerless as a newborn babe."**_

 _Naruto tried to attack the demon, but before he could, the human spoke in a definitive tone. **"Stop."**_

 _The power of the one word held the great deity in place as he growled like an animal. **"Skaath...I am going to destroy you!"**_

 _Trigon the Terrible merely smirked as he walked up and slammed his fist into Naruto's face, sending him back into a wall. **"As much as I would like to see you try right now, you are a threat to more than just the gods who stand against me. You are a threat to my own dominion. Unfortunately you cannot be killed, so you will be sealed away. There will be no knowledge in the universe of you. None will be able to summon you from your eternal prison. Now...begone."**_

 _The Deity of the End roared in rage, his magical power spiking and destroying most of the room that he was trapped in. Against his will, a tear in reality itself appeared behind him and began to pull him in. No matter how hard he tried, he only delayed the inevitable. **"I WILL DESTROY YOU! I WILL WAIT MILLENNIA! SOME DAY I WILL BE FREE! ON THAT DAY! YOU WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! YOU AND ALL OF THOSE WHO STAND WITH YOU!"**_

 _Trigon only crossed his arms and watched as he disappeared into the tear. As it closed, all went black._

 **-X-X-X-**

Naruto awoke in a cold sweat, something he was not expecting. As he looked around the now dark room, he saw the moon piercing through the window and giving the room little light. Before he rose, he felt a strange pressure to his side and looked to see another surprise. Starfire was curled up beside him in her pajamas, a smile on her face as she cuddled one of her stuffed animals. Moving discretely, he sat up and ran a hand through his head. **_'One thousand years and I still remember it as if it happened yesterday. I will not allow it to happen again...I will not go back. I will destroy them. The Presence...the Olympians...all of them. I will NOT go BACK!'_**

He had a hard time calming his heartbeat, but soon he was able to. As he got up, he heard Koriand'r's voice sound out in a sleepy tone. "Naruto...are you ok?"

He turned to see the Tamaranian Princess now awake and looking sleepily into his eyes. He could not dispute that she looked unrealistically cute. **"I'm fine, young Koriand'r. Don't worry about me. It was only a nightmare."**

She sat up slowly, still holding her plushy to her chest. "What was it about?"

He was silent for a moment before he sat back on the bed. **"Memories that I wish would go away. Memories of when I was sealed away by Skaath. I remember...at first I wasn't too scared. Being capable of doing anything, I thought that it would be a mere setback. That I would be free soon enough. But somehow...I was unable to get out. For the first hundred years in my solitary prison, I was...afraid. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get out. To be honest, I had subsided myself to forever be trapped there. Despite that, though, I did not stop plotting. I believed that I would one day, somehow, be free. Somehow I would be free to bring peace once more."**

Starfire looked sad as he talked about his imprisonment. "You are free now, friend Naruto."

Naruto smiled softly as he looked at her, garnering a light blush as his teeth glistened in the moonlight. **"Indeed I am, Koriand'r. And with this freedom, I have a friend to call my own. I have you to thank for that, princess."**

She quickly looked away, an action that was becoming all to familiar with her. "I am happy to be your friend..."

Naruto kept his smile, but it was lost in a single moment as she did something that neither of them expected. She let go of her stuffy and hugged him from the side, her eyes closed as she spoke lightly. "You can depend on me, no matter what. That is a promise."

He felt a strange heat rising to his face as he looked at the top of her head in confusion. **_'What...on earth?'_** As quickly as she had latched onto him, though, she let go and backed away. Soon after, the feeling he had disappeared. **_'What did she do to me?'_**

Naruto stood up with his back to her and quickly said bye as he disappeared from sight, leaving her cuddling her stuffed animal with a look of slight hurt in her eyes.

 **-X-X-X-**

Naruto found himself floating over the water outside of the Tower and his powers began to flare up and twist the malleable liquid into a torrent of waves. **_'Calm down...it had to be nothing. Surely nothing that could hurt me. That heat...it wasn't from her. It was from me. But what on earth was it?'_**

Soon the power that twisted around him subsided and he gathered his thoughts to a calming and serene sea. With a small sigh, He crossed his legs and floated inches above the water. **"Whatever it was...it must be nothing. A reaction that her species elicits through physical touch. Whatever it was, for now it is not my priority. I must figure out how to fix Beast Boy."**

 **"** **Thinking about others? Not something I would expect to see from a creature like you."**

Naruto's single moment of peace was cut short when he heard that voice. His eyes snapped open and he rose once more to turn and face it. His eyes began to glow red as a scowl took hold over his face. **"Don't you lecture me about caring for others..."**

The being before him smelled distinctly of the air after lightning strikes the earth. A tinge of ozone permeating off of his form. He was dressed in regal white robes as his white beard reached just under his defined chest. His own eyes were narrowed as lightning sparked in their bright blue gaze.

 **"** **Zeus."**

 ** _END:_**

 **I hope that everyone enjoyed that chapter! I'm having a blast writing it! Thank you and I look forward to posting the next chapter!**

 **Elemental Shadow Out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter of The Man Who Would Be God! I'm having a blast writing it and everyone seems to like it too! That's fantastic! I do hope everyone likes this chapter too! Just to make it clear though. This Naruto will not have the same issues that he did in Outbreak. He won't reject his power or some stupid shit like that. Remember, he is a god first and foremost.**

 **Now...**

 **Start!**

 **The Man Who Would Be God**

 **Chapter Seven**

 **The Sound of Thunder**

Naruto hovered lazily over the water as he glared at the Master of Olympus. He was no fan of Zeus, and the Lightning God knew it well. **"I was not expecting to hear that you were free of your prison. Regardless, it is of little concern. We will put you back in your place before your corruption can spread."** In the blink of an eye, there was a blinding flash of lightning, but it did nothing to Naruto except slightly singe his jacket and irritate him.

The Deity of the End rolled his eyes and spoke his piece in an offhand manner. **"You think you can play that game with me again, Zeus? I'm back and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to send me back into that heartless void again. Now leave me, before I do as I promised Skaath all those years ago and end your pathetic existence here and now."**

Zeus began to charge another massive bolt of lightning, the air dancing with electrical power around them both. **"You cannot destroy the might of Olympus so easily, you wretched being. I shall smite you here and now!"**

Naruto redirected the next bolt back at the opposing god, sending him flying back from the force of the energy collision. Following quickly, he slammed a fist into his back and sent him skyward. **"Do you truly think that a thousands years would give you the time you needed to defeat me? Or have you simply grown that much more arrogant? Do not forget that I fought your entire pantheon and still you could not win!"**

In an instant he appeared before the rising Olympian and was ready to kick him, but a small blast of lightning left him stunned long enough for Zeus to call down another devastating lightning bolt, sending the Deity of the End down into the ocean. His momentary peace did not last long, however, as Naruto was quickly upon him once more. **"Impressive! Now fight me like a true GOD!"**

His magical power swirled to life as it coated his form and he reverted back to his summoned clothing. Gathering his power into the palm of his hand, He slammed it into Zeus's stomach and forced the god even further into the sky from the explosion of black and purple energy. Chasing after him with a triumphant grin, time seemed to slow as Zeus righted himself and cast down another bolt of lightning. Naruto stared the powerful bolt down and moved with a grace and speed beyond that of light itself, coating his hand in magical power and actually grabbing hold of the advancing end of the bolt before somehow using his beyond godlike strength to hurl it right back at Zeus.

The collision lit up the night sky and Naruto found himself laughing with glee. **"Oh yes! Even the Man of Steel could not give me such a glorious fight! Come Zeus! Show me the might of Olympus!"**

Just as he finish his sentence, Naruto felt a fist collide with his back. At that point the force would've sent him further into the sky, but he was grabbed by the leg and sent hurtling back down to the island that held the Titans Tower, landing with a resounding boom and cratering an area uncomfortably close to the tower itself. Naruto looked up into the sky and saw two more very familiar faces. One was a man with dark armor and grey skin with his piercing red eyes glaring uncaringly down at the deity. The other was a woman clad in golden armor and eyes as grey as a dark storm cloud. The god and goddess of war, Ares and Athena, were here to fight alongside their father. Naruto rose to his feet with a grin, fully aware of the eyes from the Tower now observing him. **"Nice to see that daddy brought the kids to work today!"**

Ares crossed his arms and manifested a wreathe of swords that swirled and quickly assaulted the blonde, piercing his body and pinning him in place. Naruto chuckled and stayed in place with a smile. **"C'mon, Ares! You know, between you and Athena, I think you're the favorite kid."**

Athena brought out her spear and pointed it at the god as Zeus appeared behind them in a flash of lightning. **"Silence! We will not be insulted by the likes of you, creature!"**

Naruto tossed his head back in mock pain as he shifted through the blades and rose into the air to their level. **"I'd watch that tongue if I were you, little Athena..."**

Gathering his magic up, he froze her and willed her in front of him with his hand firmly around her throat. Ares and Zeus tried to move but were powerless against the blondes magics. He glared deep into her eyes and to her credit she did not flinch. **"You might find it torn from your mouth if you don't."**

He threw her back into the frozen gods who found themselves able to move once more, but it was pointless as Naruto was upon them. With a swift collection of movements, he slammed a knee into Ares's gut before twisting in the air and connected a fist into the still recovering Athena's face while simultaneously gathering up magical power before shifting behind Zeus and blasting him down into the ocean. While Ares and Athena tried to recover, he grabbed them both by their legs and quickly appeared back on the island before slamming them down into the earth and then throwing them into a nearby boulder. The boulder shattered and Ares was quick to recover this time, manifesting a sword to slice of Naruto's arm as he appeared behind him to continue his assault. Instead of blood, he was treated to smoke billowing from the wound as the blonde chuckled.

 **"** **Good hit there, Ares. But it's not enough. Nothing you do will be enough."**

The smoke soon took form with the outline of a monstrously clawed arm, but would not sustain a physical form. Naruto waved it around for a moment, watching as the smoke came off in wisps. **"I wonder how much this can hurt you?"** Dashing forward, the deity used his smoky limb to grab Ares by the arm, snapping it at the elbow and throwing him out to sea, the body skipping like a stone over the surface. **"Do...do you get some sort of sick pleasure from this, monster?"**

Naruto looked back to see Athena struggling slightly to stand, using her spear to steady herself. He then noticed the bone sticking out from her leg with golden blood flowing down to the ground. **"I'll admit, having a thrilling fight does get my blood pumping. Fortunately for you, however, I do not want to fight a battle with an opponent who can barely stand."**

With a wave of his hand, her leg was fixed and she found herself no more fatigued than when she first attacked him. **"What are you doing?"**

The blonde deity shrugged and began to force his arm to go back to its physical form. Slowly but surely, it was working. **"I fought Skaath when I was summoned back from that wretched prison your ilk had created for me. I then fought the Man of Steel. Neither fight bore any great challenge. I hope that three gods might give me a decent rush before I decide your fate."**

Athena glared at him and leveled her spear, ready to strike. **"Do not think you can decide the fate of a god of Olympus, heathen!"**

Naruto scoffed and grabbed the blade of her spear, swinging her around and sending her careening across the grass. **"I am no heathen, my dear Athena. I am a victim in this. A victim of your sanctimonious pantheon of self-righteous asshats! I sat in nothingness for a thousand years! Because you, among others, could not accept that there was a power in this universe that could come and prove that you are nothing more than a fear mongering collection of deceivers! A power that could bring about peace! You sit on your thrones and instigate war simply because you feel slighted by a simple action! One such legend of your own, my dear little Athena, is that of Medusa."**

She brought herself to a knee and snarled at him. **"Do not utter that curs name in my presence!"**

Naruto quickly appeared and smashed her back into the ground with a resounding boom. **"Remember who you speak to, Goddess of War! Tell me, do you know the tale? A woman, beautiful beyond comparison, raped in your temple by the god Poseidon. Who do you punish for the act? Surely you must blame the woman, for her beauty was the cause of such an action. So you cursed the already broken woman to never be able to meet the loving gaze of another, for a single look shall turn any man or woman to stone. Tell me, is that FAIR!"**

To punctuate his sentence, he slammed his foot into her back, but she refused to scream and only released a grunt of pain. **"Was it FAIR to lock me away? TELL ME! I came here to spread peace after the gods destroyed my world! But you wretched, PATHETIC gods decided that I was too dangerous! I was a threat! A threat to something as arbitrary as your superficial rule! Well guess what, my little Athena? I thought about it for a thousand years! And I've come to the unanimous conclusion that you and the rest of your family upon Olympus will die! But not for locking me away. No...you will die, because you stand in the way of peace! My PEACE!"**

Before he could pick her up to deliver the killing blow, he hear the approaching footsteps of the Titans and had the courtesy to spare them a look out of the corner of his eye. **"Don't tell me, you're here to tell me no. I have to say, you heroes really are ones for dramatic timing, aren't you?"**

Ravens cloak was billowing in the wind as she narrowed her eyes. "Stop this now. Starting a war with Olympus is not something that any of us want to do."

Naruto rolled his eyes and picked up Athena by her hair, dragging her along the ground as she tried to get free, but to no avail. **"You may not want a war with Olympus, my master, but I have a personal investment in their destruction."** Robin walked up, but jumped back ready to fight as Zeus appeared behind the Titans with Ares on a knee, fatigued. **"You will release my daughter this instant!"**

Naruto chuckled and threw her on the ground, squishing his foot onto her back so she couldn't move. **"Come now, Zeus. You may want to really think about your next move. You may want to go on ahead and say your goodbyes while you're at it too. I think she needs a few good words before she passes on."**

Zeus narrowed his eyes and Ares tried to stand, but it was Raven that spoke up. "Release her now!"

The Deity of the End felt his body begin to follow the order, but he forced himself to hold strong. **"You may be my master...and you may be at peace with this...but you will NOT take this from me!"**

He began to pick her up into the air, but she kicked him in the chest and the combination of the order and the hit made him release her. Reaching for her spear, she quickly picked it up and pierced him through his chest. The only reaction that was gained from this was Starfire's gasp of fear. Naruto's arms were held out to the side, surprised by the attack, but he quickly grabbed the long handle and pulled her in closer before grabbing her by the throat. Before he could get any pressure, though he was grabbed by Zeus, impaled again by Ares, blasted by Cyborg and Raven attempted to use her magic to hold him in place. A look then appeared in his eyes. Something dark as he glared deep into the eyes of the Goddess of War. **"You...are going to die. I will destroy you...and all of the gods who stand in my way! You think that you are better than me?! You fear my peace only because YOUR dominion will FAIL! You fear it! You fear ME! I will destroy you all! Zeus! You shall feel my wrath! Ra and his brethren shall taste destruction at my hand! Vishnu will cower before me! For you all stand in the way of this worlds right to PEACE! Now...get...OFF!"**

Naruto released a powerful wave of dark purple energy that sent those around him careening back. Starfire looked on in slight fear as his eyes began to glow dark red. As he approached the downed Zeus, Athena tried to get up and attack, but with a wave of his hand, she slowly began to evaporate into nothingness and if her screams were any indication, it was not painless. Ares reached out, despite being unable to move. **"Sister!"**

The blonde god rounded on the God of War and his gaze met his own. **"This sound you're making...it reminds me of a fly buzzing annoyingly around my head. Luckily, I know just how to squash a bug like you."**

Walking up and raising his foot, he tried to slam it down onto his head, but the god was able to hold it off, albeit barely. **"You...will not...get away with this! A war with Olympus will surely follow! And once they fight, the others will know of your presence once more and you will stand no chance!"**

Naruto chuckled darkly as he slowly applied more pressure and was now crushing his hands against his face. **"If Olympus does not learn from this message, then they deserve what fate awaits them."**

With one final push and a pulse of dark magic, he caved in the God of Wars face, but his body still twitched as it faded into a golden mist. Turning to Zeus, he saw the God of Thunder standing up, his pride as a god taking hold. **"If you kill me, ALL of Olympus will come for you! It will be the same as before! You will lose!"**

The Deity smirked and got in his face. **"Age must be catching up to you, Zeus. Because I remember all of the gods that fought against me. The battles waged amongst the stars that reshaped this galaxy. You did not win. You retreated, licking your wounds like dogs. And now? You will die like a rabid dog."**

Dark magic gather around his hands and he froze the master of Olympus in place, his eyes glowing a powerful red and purple. **"You should've said your goodbyes when you had your chance."** To his credit, the god did not flinch as his entire upper half was blown away by a destructive beam that pierced the very sky. As it subsided, the rest of the Titans had only just begun to recover while Starfire watched in fear.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes. **_'Another step taken...a necessary step.'_**

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Naruto quickly found rage returning to his face as he turned to face his equally angry master. **"Shut your FUCKING MOUTH!"** The roar he released shook the very earth and sent shockwaves over the surface of the water. Raven backed away as did all of the Titans, unused to his unbridled rage. **"All you FUCKING say is, "What did you do?" or "What have you done?" I swear! You all are nothing but FUCKING BROKEN RECORDS! Come to think of it...the ONLY one of you to NOT question my actions is Koriand'r! Because she UNDERSTANDS what I'm doing! You want to know what I've done, Rachel Roth! I took the first definitive step towards the peace that NONE OF YOU can achieve! If a war is what they want, then a war they will get! Anything for peace!"**

She was truly stunned and not even Robin had anything to say to the enraged god. But Starfire, for all her worth, walked forward and looked him in the eyes. "Will this bring peace? Truly?"

Naruto tried to calm himself as he nodded yes and she turned back to the rest of the Titans. "I trust him."

Robin narrowed his eyes and walked up, getting a powerful glare from the god behind her. "Starfire, what're you saying? He just killed Zeus in front of us! You really trust him?!"

Starfire nodded defiantly as Naruto worked around her and in front of the Boy Wonder. **"She does, Grayson. I'd go ahead and leave it at that."**

The two met in a steeled gaze that made the air itself feel as though Zeus were coming back. Raven was the next to speak up. "We can't just leave it at anything. You just started a WAR with GODS. This isn't something you just walk away from."

Naruto shrugged and looked at her with a lazy gleam. **"You truly have never been at war with these beings. Luckily for you...I'm something of a residential expert. They won't just COME here. To be honest, I'm surprised Zeus even did. Then again, he's always been about tooting his own horn so coming to kill me would certainly be within the boundaries of belief, albeit a little sketchy. Something had to have drawn him here. Someone knew of me and...ohhhhhhhh..."**

Starfire walked around and saw a slightly mocking smile on his face. "Naruto? What is the matter?"

The god chuckled and wagged a finger in the air. **"I knew I couldn't trust them to keep this all to themselves. Ya go and take a leap of faith and people just go and prove you wrong! Well they'll get theirs soon enough."**

Robin tried to poke in, but Naruto silenced him with a look. **"Before you even ask, it is none of your concern. It will be handled without you and that will be the end of it."**

The Boy Wonder wanted to argue, but with the memories of the dead Olympians fresh in his mind, even he was hard pressed to go further with the god. Starfire looked confused but he wouldn't assuage her curiosity. He only sighed while running a hand through his hair. **"This night...so much done in so little time. It feels really productive!"**

Raven stepped forward as Robin huffed and left with Cyborg and Beast Boy, leaving the god with the sorceress and princess. **"Yes, my master?"**

She rolled her eyes. "Enough of that. Stop calling me your master. It's obvious enough that you don't REALLY follow my orders. You truly are as chaotic as the stories on Azarath say."

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders. **"Whatever you say. But we both know why I don't follow your orders. To be entirely honest, though, with you as you are, your orders are a minor inconvenience. Now, little Raven, I would suggest you go to bed. This kind of excitement in one night is just too much for you kids."**

Raven narrowed her eyes and disappeared into darkness, leaving the Tamaranian with the God. "Friend Naruto, is what he said true? Will there truly be war?"

Naruto nodded lightly and turned to the Tower. **"There will be war, Koriand'r. However, this does not mean we will be under constant assault. I just killed not only Zeus, but their gods of war, so they are at a severe disadvantage. Truthfully, if they were smart, they would stay their hands and allow their dominion to end. To become a part of the new world that will rise to peace. Sadly, we're talking about the Olympians. Buddha and Odin, as surprising as it sounds, would at least be willing to listen to reason. It is unfortunate that these gods are so set in their ways."**

Starfire stood beside him, her fingers tingling as they were so close to his own. "You do not wish to fight them?"

He shook his head and began to walk, moving towards the Tower with the princess in tow. **"They aren't directly evil. Not all of them. But they are so set in their ways and fearful of becoming obsolete, they refuse the chance for the world to gain peace. Now I won't lie, I do like a good fight. It's a good way to relieve stress. But I don't want them to just die. I feel like killing them would only sew discord. Now, this could've been avoided. But a certain someone couldn't keep her mouth shut..."**

She stood beside the god in the rising elevator and was listening intently as he continued to talk. **"Ultimately I can't very much blame her entirely. I will go and hear her out and see just what happened. First, you need to get to bed."** Starfire looked incredulous as she put her hands on her hips. "I want to go with you!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and eyed her up and down. **"I understand that, but, and this is nothing against you, should something happen, then you wouldn't be able to help me much up there. For all I despise of them, they are supposedly the best for a reason. And I would prefer my one friend not be put in a position to be captured. Not that I couldn't stop it to begin with, I'd just rather not have the drama."**

She seemed sad, but ultimately understood, looking away to the wall of the hallway they now walked down. He noticed this and something stirred inside of him once more. **"Mmmm...fine, but if you come with me, you will NOT leave me side. Understood? Surely they will think that I've done something to you to make you trust me, so don't give them any chances to get you."**

Starfire instantly smiled and hugged him again and he felt the heat once more. "Of course not! I only want to help!"

Naruto shook his head and looked over her again. **"Before we go, then, go get changed. I doubt you need to be my partner in this dressed in pajamas."**

She broke away and ran off, another blush gracing her features as he went into the den area to wait for her. **_'I shouldn't be bringing her with me. But she promised to help me no matter what. She must be feeling some sort of obligation to this and denying her may make her second guess my dedication to our friendship. I'm not going to lose a friend and ally on this lonesome path...'_**

She must've gotten dressed very quickly because it hadn't been two minutes and she flew through the door and landed with her hands behind her back. "I am ready, friend!"

Naruto chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. **"Get ready, young Koriand'r."**

Instantly, they disappeared, but off in the corner cloaked in shadows, Robin stood from the chair where he sat with agitation in his eyes.

 **-X-X-X-**

Naruto and Starfire appeared in the command center of the Watchtower only to find that it was surprisingly empty, making the god shrug his shoulders. **"Figured at least one of them would be here. Pretty sure causing an alert will get their attention. At least the major members."**

Walking over to a control console, he found a button that clearly said 'Do Not Push! Invasion Warning!' and it made him chuckle while pressing it. **"What is it with stuff like this? Every civilization has some sort of thing that you're not supposed to push or touch or move and that just makes EVERYONE want to do just that!"**

Starfire looked nervous when an alarm started to blare and was confused when Naruto took a seat and leaned back with his hands behind his head. Nodding to the seat beside him, she slowly made her way over, her prior zeal for coming slowly going away. Sitting beside him, she voiced her concern. "Naruto...should we really be doing this? The Justice League will not like us being here."

Naruto shook his head and closed his eyes. **"Don't worry, young princess. They know now not to cross me because they can do nothing to me. I simply wish to know why Wonder Woman decided to inform Olympus of my being here. I expected word to spread through the rest of the members of the Justice League, but I do not appreciate anyone outside of it knowing without me telling them. Especially any of these gods. As much as I wanted them dead when I was sealed away, if I can avoid killing them on the way to peace, then I will. Hopefully they will all learn to stay away and we can avoid bloodshed like that from now on. Killing a god does have consequences, no matter the perpetrator."**

Koriand'r looked curious as she leaned forward, the alarm dying down to signal that someone had come to the Watchtower and deactivated it. Surely they would come to see who activated it. "If there are consequences then why did you kill them?"

The god sighed and looked out to space from his seat. **"I suppose it was in part due to a sense of revenge. I wanted them to feel my pain. But I cannot do that again. Killing in revenge is not justice. It is pure murder. As I told you once before. In order to kill for the right reasons, your mind and purpose must be clear. Taking a life cannot be driven by hate or any other negative emotions. It poisons your soul and begets only more hate."**

Starfire nodded in understand as the door opened and she jumped to her feet while Naruto stayed seated. Superman walked in with Batman, Wonder Woman, Shazam and the Flash behind him. Naruto smiled and sat up, crossing his legs and making a steeple of his hands on the arms of the chair. **"My precious little Justice League. It's so great to see you all here! I was poking my head around and saw the big red button. I do apologize but I just HAD to press it!"**

Clark gave a passing glance to Starfire and looked irritated with the Deity of the End. "That invasion signal was tied to every major World Leaders communication lines. We had to dispatch people to go and tell them NOT to mobilize their forces. What on earth are you doing back here?"

Naruto stood up and put his hands behind his back. **"I just wanted to see my friends again! Wanted to see how you were taking your vacation and particularly..."** He looked to Diana and narrowed his eyes. **"I needed to speak with the Amazon. She alerted the Olympians to my arrival and I just had to...deal with a few of them."**

Wonder Woman did not flinch as she stepped forward with a defiant gaze. "After Batman warned me about you, I requested an audience with Hera and informed her that a man calling himself the Deity of the End had defeated Clark and had effectively shut down the Justice League, threatening to kill us should we do anything he does not want. She told me that the problem would be dealt with. You said you fought them. Who was sent against you?"

Naruto chuckled and crossed his arms as Starfire came up behind him. **"Zeus, Ares and Athena all came to welcome me to Earth, my dear Amazon."**

Diana looked surprised. "And you lived?"

The gods smirk got dark as his power leaked lightly from his form. **"I cannot be beaten, Diana of Themyscira. Unfortunately...I had no choice but to relieve them of their lives."**

This declaration garnered only silence as Diana took a step back and even Batman looked worried. Naruto shrugged and let his magic dissipate into the air. **"I was provoked. Zeus attacked me and then Ares and Athena joined in not long after. I then executed them. Be happy, though, young Amazon. Had it not have been them...it would've been you. Consider this a warning. I don't want to kill the heroes of this world. And...I no longer want the gods dead. I have long since abandoned that vendetta. But should you tell anyone else, they shall suffer alongside you."**

Superman glared at him. "Is that the only reason you called us here? To gloat about how powerless we are against you?"

Naruto chuckled and shrugged. **"Originally, yes. But now I have a mission for you in particular, Bruce."**

Batman narrowed his eyes. "What?"

The god looked a little hurt as he noticed Starfire becoming a little bit more comfortable in the high tension environment. **"Such hate behind that cowl of yours, Bruce. You truly do wound me! But not as much as the person I'm sending you after. You are tasked with hunting down and ending the Joker once and for all. I want him and his accomplice, Harley Quinn, dead. They are a blight upon Gotham and the world as a whole and their time is up."**

Bruce looked angry and was ready to pull his batarangs out, but was stopped by the harsh glare from Naruto. **"I'm not here alone, Bruce. I'd watch pulling weapons out right now."**

The Flash dashed forward, leaning against a chair and pointed at Starfire in confusion. "Why is she even here? Isn't she one of the Titans in Jump City?"

Starfire was about the answer, but Naruto got to it first. **"I can assure you, Barry, she is far more than a Titan. You could consider her my greatest friend. My only friend. Should ANYTHING befall her...I will destroy those responsible."**

Barry held up his hands in defense as Naruto turned back to Bruce, putting his hand on Starfire's shoulder and slowly fading away. **"You have one week to do this. When you find them, you will alert me and I will be there to witness it so I know you won't hide him away in that cave of yours. Should you not do it...then I will end them AND you. If you are not willing to end the life of a man like the Joker, then you have no place here."**

With half of him and Starfire now gone, he looked back to Diana. **"And you, Amazon. Tell your gods that I will not accept anymore trespasses against me. Should they come, I will have no choice but to kill them. And, as much as I would like to avoid it..."**

 **"** **You shall die as well."**

 ** _END:_**

 **There's the next one! I hope everyone likes it as much as I loved writing it!**

 **Elemental Shadow Out!**


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